Nameless Exception
by JeichanHaka
Summary: Starting the night before L's death, the actions of a new Shinigami and DeathNote user delay Light's plans to kill L, an event destined to change the course of history. OC. My first DeathNote Fanfiction.
1. Divergence

A/N: This fanfic begins the night before L's death in the Anime, and deviates from the canon storyline throughtout.

**Nameless Exception**

Chapter 1: Divergence

The sky overhead held sparse stars that glittered, the moon full and silver gray; it seemed dusk had finally set, the city slipping into sleep. The perfect eve to Kira's plan to eliminate L; the perfect evening to begin the harrowing of justice.

The cold air settling into gusts brought the first droplets of tomorrow's storm. The sharp caws of crows echoing above a gray and black skyscraper, followed by the low call of a pepper-hued owl soaring pass the windows.

"I wonder…should I wait until Kira falls or challenge Kira now?" The whisper blended into the rushing air, its owner a heavily shadowed figure standing on a balcony. Under the moonlight the figure held out a pale hand, slender fingers opening a stark black notebook. "Heavy rains are coming, Laskla." The figure turned to face the balcony door: on the threshold stood the Shinigami.

Slightly less monstrous than other Shinigami, Laskla stared up at the sky, the moonlight throwing the scars all over his face and body into sharp relief from heavy shadows, making them more grotesque. The heavily shadowed human paused, then exhaled watching Laskla step onto the balcony; the Shinigami met the shadowed human's eyes -- the pale blue pupils glistened surrounded by heavily shadowed death mask skin.

"You sense it." Laskla said, voice monotonous as the wind killed its journey past the shadow-thronged human's ears; still, the strong color of the Shinigami's eyes illuminated the interest his voice didn't.

"If I make my move, the other Shinigami will find you: The Exiled Shinigami from 1000 years ago."

"There's no consequence, I can't be killed…hence my exile."

"You have yet to tell me why you can't die even by means that can kill other Shinigami." The human waited a minute before breathing in and exhaling, Laskla remained silent as the human's pale blue eyes averted to the black notebook. "Can't complain, I guess…you answered all my other questions, kept me company for years…."

"Five years ago I gave you that Death-Note, and only now do you think about using it more than sparingly. Kira is good for something if he triggers you to action…."

"You know I'm a misanthrope and budding anarchist, Laskla, you taught me well." The human glared down below, the city streets tiny with streetlights glowing. "I'll challenge Kira's sense of 'justice.' His 'killing only criminals' mindset annoys me. All are criminals at heart, all deserve to die. Otherwise death itself wouldn't exist."

Droplets of rain grew thicker as the wind cascaded through the city, whipping the jagged strands of hair issuing from the unnamed human's head; its glistening red tint shined beneath the silver moon's glow.

0

L sat in his peculiar way on the wheeled cushioned chair, the computer monitors in front of him glowing bright; his eyes closed and breathing quiet he napped, mind still buzzing with deductions about Kira. His early deductions all pointed to Light Yagami, and they still did if he took recent happenings as all being part of 'Light as Kira's' plan: he just didn't have tangible proof. Not yet.

Watari's voice issuing from the monitor woke him, his black-pupil eyes shot open and glanced over the screen; his thumb brought to his lips. He paused, eyes widening as he listened to Watari and then switched the screen to the news. His pale skin grew paler as he watched, the heavy shadows under his eyes grown darker with the contrast; black pupils engrossed by the headline.

_As of midnight 30 patients at Downtown General Hospital have died from heart failure…_

L bit down on his thumbnail, almost drawing blood as Watari uploaded live footage from the hospital to the computer screen; the panic chaotic as 10 more patients were pronounced dead -- all of heart failure.

'_This isn't Kira, but it is his power….' _L leaned toward the console and microphone, his thumb red where he bit it. "Watari, inform…call the investigation team all back to headquarters, including Light Yagami and Misa Amane…but have her wait in one of the other rooms."

L returned to crouching on the chair, attention focused on the unfolding news; his eyes widened, thumb slipped over his bottom lip while behind him the door slid open and shut. He heard the approaching footsteps stop, but he didn't catch the sharp inhale that followed. The detective glanced behind him, unsurprised that Light had arrived first.

Light's eyes widened as he watched the screen, he blinked and stepped closer, mind whirling with the meaning of what he saw.

'_There's another Death-Note out there…another Shinigami…'_

"Yagami-kun --" The detective's words cut off as the new headline flashed across the screen, black eyes engrossed as he chewed on his thumb, his other hand squeezing his leg.

_…issued an audio message to Kira, which we will now air._ The newscaster announced as the screen background changed to a gray one with the fancy-font words _to Kira_ blacking the center. Almost immediately a machine-altered voice began speaking.

_-Kira, your reign has lasted long enough…playing judge, jury, and executioner with lives is not an act of god or a savior or whatever you have blinded yourself into thinking you are.-_

Light's eyes gleamed scarlet, his expression the stone etching of anger as he listened and struggled to keep it concealed from L; the detective glanced at Light at each pause, his expressionless eyes trying to catch Light's thoughts through the younger man's facial responses.

_-Do not mistake me, I am not justice. Such fantasy does not exist, Kira. But I digress… philosophy bantering is not my intention.…I issue a challenge: reveal yourself to me, to the world…if you are a god why be a coward hiding in shadow? Reveal yourself Kira and I will not kill you. Hide and I will slaughter the lambs you so righteously protect.-_

The message ended, leaving only silence until the newscaster reappeared whose shaky voice continued in the background as L turned and faced the taskforce members that had slipped in during the message. The threat hung heavy on the air.

"This…this is…." Soichiro Yagami stammered, his eyes glued to the screen as the last words in the message echoed in his ears. The other investigators looked at each other and then at L, reverting back to the screen now silently playing the news.

L chewed on his thumbnail before turning back to the screen and speaking into the microphone.

"Watari, how many death's were there so far tonight?"

"As of now: 45, Ryuzaki. All heart failure, and none were criminals or suspects."

"Innocent people? This guy is worse than Kira…" Matsuda shook his head as he spoke, glancing at the others. Each investigator's expression held horror and fear.

"Watari, find out all you can about the victims. We'll need to look at the hospital security tapes too." L relaxed back into his peculiar way of sitting, both hands now clenching his legs and shaking; his hair hid his eyes from view. He glared sharply at Light standing next to him, though the younger man didn't notice; instead Light stared at the now blank screen his expression shock.

"…this…we need to stop this guy…." Light closed his eyes and then opened them to stare at the console. _'This bastard has ruined my plans…L will focus on finding him rather than suspecting Misa…keeping her safe so Rem won't….'_ Light bit his inner cheek to settle himself -- he was in the same room as L, he couldn't lose composure and give L any more reason to suspect him.

"Our first priority is to find out how this _Anti_-Kira found the names and faces of his victims. It's one thing killing a criminal whose face and name were broadcast through the media, but killing hospital patients whose identities are kept confidential is another." L brought his thumb back to his lips before turning back to the investigation team, hair no longer blocking his eyes from view. "Until this _Anti_-Kira is caught, the investigation on Kira I and Kira II is on hold."

'_Damn…'_ Light glanced back where Rem watched in the corner, sensing the relief from the Shinigami as Misa's life was no longer in immediate danger. He quieted his agitation with another bite to his inner cheek. _'This is only a setback…once Anti-Kira is caught L will continue his Kira investigation on Misa, and Rem will have to write his name in her Death-Note.'_

0

"How was it, Laskla? Kira's probably thinking of ways to stay hidden or find me before I do him." The red-tinted, dark hair of the human obscured the white face from view, the pale eyes glistening in the television light.

"Interesting." Laskla gazed out the window, at the clouds quickly dispersing in the night-darkened sky. "The storm has passed."

"Hm?" The human followed Laskla's stare, eyebrows raised as the violet tapestry of night showed clearer each passing second. "It passed before it begun…odd. Could it be one of those 'storms of fate' you mentioned in the past? The ones that signify those drastic turning points that change history?"

'_More than human history will change with this…the first sign of chaos: a sure storm that halts its path.'_ Laskla faced the human, watching the pale blue eyes narrow with a sharp glint and the thin lips twist into a smirk.

'_Revenge will come, you mean? Laskla? The upheaval you desired?'_ The human stared the Shinigami in the eye, strange warping shadows outlining the androgynous body; shadows that also veiled Laskla. Unnatural silence entombed the room as neither Shinigami nor human spoke, the warping shadows conversing for them.

'_What _we_ desired, Desu. The end of all. Humans, Shinigami…the true justice that called me to you.'_

"Maybe…I can't wait to see Kira's first move against me…or what he'd do once he realizes the current Death-Note's drawback." The human grinned and sat on the couch, TV screen glowing until a pale finger pressed the off button, leaving the room fully shadowed.

**A/N:** This is my first Death Note fanfiction, and I've only watched up to L's death in the anime, as well as watched the two live-action Death Note movies. As L is my favorite character, I've decided to delay watching the rest of the anime because of his death.


	2. AntiKira

Nameless Exception

**Chapter 2: **Anti-Kira

The sharp noon sun bore heavily onto the city, the scent of rain lingering even as the skies showed clear blue; beneath the intense brightness students conversed on the To-Oh University campus about Kira and the media-dubbed Anti-Kira. Two days had passed since the hospital tragedy and Anti-Kira's challenge.

Groups of students discussed recent events, flocking to friends with a nervous and disillusioned air, trying to figure out why Kira hadn't responded to the challenge; why the 'savior' didn't take action when Anti-Kira spoke the threat:

_-Hide and I will slaughter the lambs you so righteously protect-_

The wind blew sharp across the campus grounds.

Hair strands the hue of congealed blood falling over a pale forehead, the strands covering the temples jagged and near black, Anti-Kira peeked over darkened sunglasses at the crowds loitering about. Laskla walked behind, preferring the feel of the ground to the air, his wings hidden against his back.

"Kira hasn't made a move yet. Not that I expected Kira I to, but Kira II…." The pale blue eyes closed as an ivory white hand blocked the overhead sunlight from sneaking pass the shades. "I've preferred the storm, overcast skies are less annoying."

"Desu, five years have passed and you're still not used to sunlight?" Laskla asked, leaning his chin on Anti-Kira's shoulder -- the human glared at him and turned away.

"You keep me in the dark." The human's lips twisted in the beginning of a smirk.

"Desu…."

Anti-Kira's head jerked, pale eyes glaring at Laskla, red-rimmed from the burning sun.

"….Don't like the name I chose for you?"

"I'm just not used to hearing it spoken….what's wrong with using telepathy in public? Humans won't notice." Anti-Kira resumed walking, found shade 3 degrees cooler under the nearest cluster of trees, and sat on the grass.

"Other Shinigami will sense it -- it's been forbidden since the Shinigami King revised Death-Note law." Laskla stood above the human, his narrowed eyes taking in the androgynous form beneath their gaze. Slender arms and flat chest covered with an ocean blue dress shirt, crossed legs enshrouded in midnight slacks, Anti-Kira leaned against an ashen tree trunk.

"Afraid of being found, are you? If you'd preferred I'd stay hidden…."

"It's just too soon to be found out yet, Desu…." Laskla noticed the human's lips twitch, a frown this time. "It's not so bad…Desu is similar to how the English word Death is pronounced in Japanese…."

"It doesn't mat --" Anti-Kira paused, blue eyes behind the shades widening as they focused upon a Goth-Lolita with long blonde hair, dressed entirely in a black and lacy-cuffed dress. The expression on the Goth-Lolita's face held distraction and fury mixed with fear. "Bingo." The red glint filled Anti-Kira's blue eyes as the female passed, eyes soon averted as the female glanced toward the tree cluster.

0

Finger and thumb holding the cup handle delicately, L sipped the intensely sweetened tea, his eyes scan-reading the information on the center computer screen. The other screens played footage from the hospital security tapes.

Hearing the door slide open, he placed the cup on the table and laid his hands on his knees; he waited as Watari wheeled a sweets-laden tray next to his chair, his sweet tooth raging over his thoughts. Silently, L took a cake slice topped with white icing and strawberries, and then turned back to the computer screens, eyes searching for something he missed.

'_According to the medical records obtained the first 30 were terminally-ill…but cameras and visiting logs recorded no common visitor….'_

L dug into the cake with his fork, savoring the sugary confection as he watched the hospital security tapes; his eyes flicked from screen to screen when his heart thumped in his chest. The sudden beat of discovery drummed through his blood as on one screen one victim's visitor dropped a sheet of paper; the blurred but legible words _'Kira-Mercy' _blackened across the top in fancy type.

" 'Kira-_Mercy_'? Mercy?" L paused the tape, his thumb on his bottom lip as he read the words. Using the computer console he zoomed in on the image, the rest of the text indiscernible except for the beginning of a web URL. Keeping the tape paused, he turned to another computer screen and opened the web browser, typing in 'Kira Mercy' in the search box.

The first five results linked to various 'Support Kira' websites, with one or two more blogs against Kira. Those he bypassed as he scrolled down, speed reading through the site information after each link: he'd already visited most of the sites before and found nothing relevant to the 'Anti'-Kira situation.

'_What is missing? Some connecting factor….'_

L clicked the next page link and sat with his thumb against his upper lip, eyes scanning the quick to load page. In the middle of the list his eyes riveted on one URL; one that contained the phrase 'Kira-Mercy' the most recent update summary including the day prior to the hospital incident.

L's eyes widened as he read, his attention riveted to each word. _'So that's how….'_

0

Misa stared at the unknown human by the tree cluster, her Shinigami eyes blocked by the heavily darkened shades the stranger wore; she watched the stranger's hand cover his lower face as though suppressing laughter. Her breath catching, she glanced at Ryuk, the Shinigami's intrigued laugh echoed in her ears and the interested way he stared at the stranger gushed anticipation through her veins.

"Anti-Kira…." She mouthed the words and then paled as the stranger stood, approaching her the next second.

'_You must find this 'Anti'-Kira.' _Light's words from the morning after the hospital incident echoed in her thoughts, lessening her urge to flee. Instead she faced the stranger, refusing to budge as she readied herself to forcefully remove the stranger's sunglasses.

Anti-Kira stopped four feet away, head shaking, lips curled in a disappointed smile. Misa studied the stranger in the din of silence, the ocean blue dress shirt looser around the waist than around the chest, midnight slacks baggy around the ankles but of a neutral make.

'_Is this person male or female?' _Misa watched the stranger warily, heart beating against her ribcage, her eyes remained on the stranger's hands. _'If he is Anti-Kira and he goes for his Death-Note….'_

She glanced again at Ryuk, hoping the Shinigami would confirm -- the sunglasses the stranger wore stopped her from seeing his face and with it his name and possible lifespan.

"Where is Kira." The stranger demanded, bringing Misa's widened eyes back to his mostly covered face.

"No time for pretense, eh?" Laskla smirked next to Anti-Kira, his own eyes fixated on Ryuk, watching the Shinigami with confidence. _'Ryuk's this one's Shinigami, good. He never takes sides….'_

"I don't know." Misa straightened her stance and glared at Anti-Kira, forcing her face to hide the lie and the fear nibbling beneath her skin. The heavy sun illuminated their surroundings and selves with a burning light, and Misa felt the butterfly feeling in her stomach settle as she remembered what Anti-Kira had done. '_He's killed innocent people…ill people…and has threatened to kill more innocents….Regardless of what happens to me, Anti-Kira needs to be stopped….for Light…for the innocent people in that hospital….'_

"You're a terrible liar, Misa Amane-chan." Anti-Kira said, tilting his head to the side in bemusement; the soft curves of his chin and neck seemed more feminine in the bright light -- feminine and pale. "Your face is a blank canvas for your emotions….so again, where is Kira?"

"I'll never tell you. Murderer."

Anti-Kira's eyebrows shot up and his lips twitched as he bit back a sardonic chuckle; he brought his index finger to his teeth and bit down, drawing blood that dribbled into his mouth. He licked the blood on his finger before moving that hand to his side, that arm akimbo.

" '_Murderer_'? So what are you and Kira? Harbingers of criminal genocide?"

"We protect the innocent from evil people, bring justice to those who the law failed to punish….unlike you who…."

"…Responded to 45 terminally-ill or chronic-pain sufferers requests to put them out of their misery." Anti-Kira watched Misa flinch, her eyes widening and mouth agape. "I misled the motives for those deaths for my own ends, but each of those 45 willingly submitted their names and photos to me, asking for who _they _dubbed 'Kira-Mercy' to end their lives."

"What? I don't believe you…." Misa shook her head, remembering Light's account of the news, and the TV station's take on the hospital incident. Neither mentioned anything about death requests.

"Unsurprising you don't know about it…I started it two years ago as a suicide-request blog named Death-Mercy, but most search engines block it. In recent months it's been rechristened Kira-Mercy. Though I don't care for that name."

"But…but…." Misa began shaking her head but stopped, remembering a day before Kira punished the criminal who slaughtered her family -- that day she had stumbled across a chat-room discussion about suicide-rings, and dimly remembered the name 'Death-Mercy' coming up. "…why….why are you against Kira then?! If you're using the Death-Note to help people avoid pain…."

"I use the Death-Note because I want to kill. Killing those who wish to die is just a precaution…something to add moral ambiguity. Entertainment." Anti-Kira fiddled with his crimson and black hair, head tilted in interest of Misa's surprise. "You think it's wrong to want to kill? Don't _you_ get a thrill writing criminal names in the Death-Note? Knowing they'll die is a release…and killing is killing regardless of what moral ambiguity is behind it." Anti-Kira approached closer to Misa, soft palm cupping the blonde beauty's chin within seconds; before she could react Anti-Kira's lips met hers, his arms holding her about the waist.

Misa throat went dry the moment those cold lips touched hers, but she kept the kiss connected while her right hand roamed up to Anti-Kira's face. The next second she grabbed the sunglasses and kneed the stranger between the legs, heart jumping in her chest when she realized she'd mistook the androgynous stranger's gender.

Anti-Kira grabbed Misa's arm, kiss broken as the shades fell to the ground; virulent blue eyes glared down into Misa's, hiding a hungry excitement as the petite blonde struggled to break free. The pale, lithe arms stilled Misa's struggles as Anti-Kira's free hand pick pocketed her cell-phone; flipping it open Anti-Kira clicked his - or rather her - tongue.

" 'Light Yagami?' The only one whose number you called more than once recently…boyfriend? Or…."

"He's just a friend! Don't…." Misa paled as Anti-Kira smirked, the thin lips showing the hint of teeth.

"I told you, you're a terrible liar." Anti-Kira chuckled in the captive's ear as a bone-pale finger hit speed-dial on the cell-phone.


	3. Converging

**Nameless Exception**

Chapter 3: Converging

L sipped the sweetened tea, eyes reading over the blog, the website itself split into two parts -- two links: Death Mercy and Kira Mercy. Crouched in his usual way, one bare foot scratching the other, L finished the tea and placed the cup down; choosing another cake slice from the tray Watari had brought. As his lips closed down on the first forkful, an information box popped up on another monitor screen; he bit down on the fork as he fixated on the message.

'_An incoming call on Yagami-kun's cell-phone….' _L shoveled another forkful of cake into his mouth, the sugary confection melting on his tongue. _'From Amane-san….'_

Placing his fork on the plate, he pressed a few buttons on the keyboard until a recording message appeared on the monitor screen. Minimizing the Death-Mercy/Kira-Mercy website, he crouched in his chair and listened as the conversation started.

0

Light gazed at the caller display on his cell-phone, eyes widened a sliver at Misa's number displayed on the screen. _'Could she have…?' _He felt adrenaline entering his veins and he smirked, the next moment shaking his head. _'I'm getting ahead of myself…no way Misa found Anti-Kira yet, not without any new clues.'_

Flipping open the cell-phone and placing it against his ear, Light sat in the cushioned chair by the balcony window, his calm demeanor belying the worry that Misa might slip up while talking on the phone. _'I'm sure L has both our cell-phones tapped….'_

"Moshi-Moshi Misa-chan." Light said calmly, listening with lukewarm interest to the other ends greeting.

0

"Hello, Light-kun!"

Misa's eyes widened as Anti-Kira boldly spoke into the cell-phone, mimicking her voice flawlessly, though Anti-Kira made no attempt to show the appropriate facial expressions. One strong, pale arm holding her against Anti-Kira's chest, Misa opened her mouth to scream after her initial shock faded, but Anti-Kira covered her mouth and dragged the blonde into the shade behind a shed half eclipsed by trees.

"No…No, everything's fine, I'm just tired from work…." Anti-Kira glared down at Misa, pale blue eyes narrowed as she spoke, her Misa impersonation perfect even as her lips twisted into a Kira-worthy sneer. Misa struggled, eardrums pained as she listened to Anti-Kira leading Light into a discussion about dates.

'_I need to stop her…I need her name….' _Misa brought her hands to Anti-Kira's arm, digging her nails into the unflinching skin, her legs kicking back against Anti-Kira's shins, stomping on her feet with no response. Throughout it all, Anti-Kira's eyes glared sharply at the youthful face surrounded by blonde hair, growing annoyance etched into the corners of her lips; she ended the conversation after another minute.

"Light Yagami sounds like a gentleman…or a good actor….Light, Kira, um?" Anti-Kira released Misa, but pocketed the cell-phone, glancing disinterestedly at the blonde as Misa's eyes glowed red; Anti-Kira smirked, a bit of white teeth showing. Her eyebrows rose in feigned surprise as Misa backed away in shock, shaking her head, eyes widened. "Something wrong, Misa-chan?"

"You…how….why…."

0

Shutting his cell-phone, Light glared at the contraption, ears ringing with Misa's voice while the queasy bubble of suspicion gnawed inside him. He turned back to the balcony window, watching the bright sun hugging the city with its light.

'_That was Misa's voice…and everything I'd expect her to talk about, even the date part….of course that's impossible now that I can't leave the building without Rem following…L already….' _

Light's eyes widened, mouth slightly agape as he drew in breath; the burning suspicion in his gut rising to his chest; adrenaline crashed through his torso and limbs, igniting his thoughts.

"That's what…."

'_The 'Misa' I just talked to made no reference to L, no reference to knowing why I can't leave…no whining about me not dating her….'_

"Why didn't she…unless…yet if…." Light swallowed as he glared once more at the cell-phone, his insides shaking. _'Minus the voice similarity…that conversation could've been done by anyone who knew Misa's character and the basic facts about our relationship. But not about L, the taskforce…about how close….' _Light bit the inside of his cheek, hair covering his eyes until he glared at the far horizon outside the balcony window. His usually calm eyes narrowed in anger, the brown glinting red as he mouthed _Anti-Kira_, lips twisted into a smirk the next second.

'_Anti-Kira made a bold move…if he has Misa or killed her….' _Light closed his eyes as he thought, blood boiling inside him as he struggled against the adrenaline in his veins_. 'He must have the Shinigami eyes, otherwise Misa would've found him first….this ability to mimic Misa's voice probably means Anti-Kira is female, though….' _He opened his eyes, lips pursed as another thought crossed his mind. _'L most likely tapped my phone and listened to the conversation, maybe even recorded it….he might realize it wasn't Misa as well….'_

0

Listening to the playback, thumb against his upper lip, L closed his eyes for a second, opening them when people entered the room; he glanced back briefly to see the investigation officers hesitate as the recording playback fell onto their ears. Saying nothing, L turned back to the monitor, the screen displaying a voice analysis of the recording.

"Interesting…." L rubbed his thumb against his lip as his black eyes took in the results.

"Ryuzaki, what's the meaning of this recording?" Soichiro approached the detective, the other officers behind him staring at detective. "You tapped their phones…and recorded…that's….how long are you going to suspect…."

L stopped the playback and turned around to face the investigation team, the seriousness reflected in his eyes halting the officers objections.

"Without this recording our biggest lead to Anti-Kira and Kira would've remained undiscovered." L motioned the officers closer, and moved so they could see the voice analysis. "Two charts -- the top one an analysis of Amane-san's voice and the bottom an analysis of the playback caller's voice…."

"But wasn't that playback of Misa-san's voice?" Matsuda glanced at the chart and then at L, eyes widening as his question went ignored.

"….both analysis charts appear identical, except for certain points. Here." L highlighted certain areas on the charts, pausing until each officer fixed his eyes on the charts before continuing. "These points are essential…."

"You're not suggesting…."

"But they only deviate a fraction, how is that significant?"

"With only the analysis chart it's not, but matching it with the words actually said…the words that correlate with the deviations are Yagami-kun's name and the times the caller whined or complained….this suggests either a change of heart for Amane-san about Yagami-kun and the current situation or someone mimicking her who doesn't know her feelings about either." L paused at the collective intake of breath among the team, the doubt among them shrinking with each explanation.

"But…how could someone mimic a voice enough to fool a computer…." Matsuda glanced again at the charts, noting that the analysis gave the caller's voice a high percentage of matching Misa's. "She could just be tired, or…."

"Listen to the recording." L started the playback again, from the caller's first word. "Listen carefully to how this 'Misa' says Yagami-kun's name. _Light_, pronounced smoothly in one syllable like the English word rather than the Japanese pronunciation…." The detective continued a few more seconds before growing quiet as each man listened to the recording.

"This…." Matsuda began after the conversation ended as L turned his chair to face the investigation team. "If this isn't Misa-san, then who is it?" He glanced at each officer before turning back to L.

"Anti-Kira, most likely." L bit down on his thumbnail, lips a tiny bit curved into a smile. _'If Anti-Kira found Misa Amane to be Kira II…catching Anti-Kira could help in proving Light is Kira I….'_

'_Misa….' _Rem stared at the group from a darkened corner after taking in the conversation, insides burning with worry. Unnoticed by any of the team, she passed through the wall, determination in her eyes.

0

Misa gasped, backing into a tree, her face the perfect etching of terror. "Your name…how is it no name….it can't be the Shinigami eyes….." Misa glanced terrified at Ryuk, her heart thumping in her chest, blood running cold as she paled.

"Nothing's wrong with those pretty little eyes of yours, Misa-chan. You're just facing a rarity." Anti-Kira fiddled with her crimson and black bangs, bemusement carved into her smirk as her pale blue eyes glared hungrily at Misa. "A nameless exception…."

"That…that can't be….all humans have names…all…." Misa paled as Anti-Kira approached and placed a hand above her head on the tree trunk. Their faces an inch apart, Misa trembled as Anti-Kira traced a finger over her paled cheek.

"By ages 2 ½ to 3, people usually do have set names…but a name itself is powerless without an identity bonded to it."

"But….someone your age had to have bonded an identity with a name, as you put it. Even if you were adopted or orphaned or…."

"Kept locked up in a cellar until age 13?" Anti-Kira smirked studying Misa's widening eyes, the bitterness buried in the corners of her lips and the sudden dulling of pale blue eyes. "Locked up with nothing but a Shinigami for company? By parents who conceived a child they never wanted?"

"That….you were…." Misa felt her throat close, her gut twisting now with horror and disgust as she processed Anti-Kira's words. The truth etched with the hatred and bitterness of Anti-Kira's expression. "That's horrible…but why….why are you against Kira then? If you can't find avenge yourself, he can….or I can….I…."

"Those who locked me up, I already killed. With my own hands and not the Death-Note." Anti-Kira pulled back from Misa, watching as the terrified and horrified blonde slid to the ground, eyes still focused on the one above them. "I've lived only five years outside that cellar, and while inside that cellar Laskla, the Shinigami who gave me the Death-Note, practically raised me himself."

'_So Laskla's made himself a Demi-Shi.'_ Ryuk gazed over Anti-Kira, noting the shadow aura surrounding the human and connecting to Laskla. _'Seems the connection isn't complete yet though…whatever the outcome, this should be interesting…'_


	4. Fear

**Nameless Exception:**

**Chapter 4: **

Light backed away from Rem, sweat dripping down his face as the Shinigami's echoed on his eardrums. His pulse quickened staring into Rem's burning eyes, the Shinigami's anger palpable in the stretched out silence. Light swallowed, his veins still pumping adrenaline even after Rem left the room; he breathed and bit his inner cheek to settle his blood -- the knock on the door five minutes later made him jump.

'_I need to calm down and think. L must have figured out about the fake Misa, that's how Rem found out…worse, if L believes the fake is Anti-Kira, he'll figure Anti-Kira found Misa to be Kira II…I'm more of a suspect now….'_

Light shook his head and breathed, his thoughts rapid-fire as he opened the door, unsurprised to receive a visitor, but slightly intrigued that Matsuda stood behind the door.

"Light-kun, you need to come with me. There's an emergency…Misa-chan…."

0

Phone held delicately with his forefinger and thumb, L listened to the voice on the other end, his eyes staring ahead without focusing on anything. The held back breaths in the room lending a striking silence, broken only as the door slid open; Light entered the room, followed by Matsuda, his insides throbbing with adrenaline as his eyes found L.

"What's happened? What's….."

L's shadowed black eyes carefully glanced over Light, taking in the college student's expression -- worry that seemed only half contrived to the detective. Turning his attention away, his eyes moving as though reading over his thoughts, L finished the phone conversation and rotated his chair to face the Task Force and mainly Light.

"Amane-san was found unconscious sometime during the 17 minutes after your last conversation. She's being transported to the hospital…."

"What?" Light drew back in his surprise, fighting the sudden urge to glance at Rem; the Shinigami glowered in the back right-side, darkened corner, her eyes locked on Light, only the fact that Misa hadn't been reported dead kept her from writing Light's name in her death-note.

'_Light, if you don't find Anti-Kira, I will kill you…if Misa dies because of you….'_

Light shuddered as though he heard the Shinigami's thoughts; the feeble whisper in his head echoing the Shinigami's threat he blamed on Rem's earlier threat.

0

Anti-Kira sat at a restaurant patio table across the street from the hospital, elbow propped on the metallic surface, fingers twirling the straw in her drink. Shades replaced over her eyes, dark strands of her hair lay lazily over the plastic lens -- her aura screamed _'bored' _as she sipped at her drink.

"Desu." Laskla prodded her as he watched the hospital side entrance, noticing a group of people heading there; he sat to her left on one of the metal chairs, the human-ness of is receiving a chuckle from their guest.

"Being exiled corrupted your Shinigami identity, Laskla, sitting and walking instead of floating or flying…." Ryuk laughed, hovering behind Anti-Kira and glancing at the bag beside her -- inside two Death Notes rested. "Making Demi-Shi…."

"Demi-Shi were used in the past Ryuk, before the Shinigami King banned the practice." Laskla replied with his head tilted, eyes narrowed as he watched the other Shinigami.

'_Does she know?' _Ryuk glanced down at Anti-Kira, then back to Laskla who turned back to the hospital entrance. _'That making her into a Demi-Shi will erase her freewill?'_

Laskla tilted his head back at Ryuk, his expression saying _'What do you think?' _as the hovering Shinigami chuckled to himself.

'_I wonder how Light will deal with this….' _Ryuk hovered a little higher as he glanced around, eyes open for the brown haired college student or a member of the Task Force. _'The current Death Notes are unable to kill Demi-Shi…or humans becoming Demi-Shi….'_

Ryuk glanced down at Anti-Kira once more, name and lifespan as invisible to him as it had been to Misa, though he noticed the dark fog above Anti-Kira's head that enveloped the rest of her body like a veil: Laskla's energy surrounding her, slowly changing her body. Morphing her into a Demi-Shi or half-Shinigami, a being not quite human and not quite Shinigami. Something more like a tool, without freewill, that did its master's -- the Shinigami that created it -- bidding.

'_To create a Demi-Shi now…Laskla, are you planning to start a war?'_

0

Misa slowly opened her eyes, lying languid in the hospital bed, her mind blank; blonde hair loose in waves around her head, she turned toward the sound of the opening door. Her lips flexed a little as Light stepped into the hospital room, followed by L -- yet her eyes remained blank, uncomprehending.

"Misa…." Light approached the bed, noticing Ryuk's absence as the questions he wished to ask burned in his throat. He felt L's eyes watching him, drilling into him like they could peel away the skin and reveal all of his secrets -- he hated those eyes, the eyes of the only one that stood in his way to godhood. "Are you all right, Misa? Are you…."

Misa stared at him, eyebrows furrowed slightly before she sat up; her fingers furled the sheet covering her legs, bunching it together and then letting it go. Her blonde hair hung loosely passed her shoulders, swaying into her fingers' paths as she shifted her focus to them.

"Amane-san…." L's black-pupil eyes absorbed Misa's fidgeting movements as he moved to the foot of the bed, hunched over slightly as he walked; he watched her expression closely, his brain pulsing with explanations and questions. This vantage point allowed him view of the small bandage on Misa's left temple, an injury he'd been aware of since receiving the call informing him of Misa's hospitalization.

"Misa, what is it? What…." Light leaned closer to the blonde, his right hand on the mattress, holding him up. He cringed inwardly when Misa's blank eyes turned to him -- the explanation unspoken but shining clear in her eyes. His eyes fell on Misa's bandaged left temple, his insides burning with suppressed anger; he smothered it and instead reached to touch Misa's delicate chin.

'_She loss more than her memory of the Death Note….' _Light swallowed and closed his eyes, hearing her whispered question even though her lips barely moved. He pushed away from the bed, eyes hidden by his hair as he turned away, the question echoing in his ears: Who are you?

'_Anti-Kira…' _Light left the room without another word, that name echoing in his head even as he passed by the other Task force members and ignored them. He barely noted Rem entering Misa's room or the surprise in the Shinigami's eyes as Rem beheld the human she loved.

It passed through his thoughts that Rem might write his name in her Death-Note after seeing Misa on the hospital bed, he paused in the hall once he heard the other members enter the blonde's room. He bit his inner cheek -- if Rem wrote his name in her Death Note, he lost but he couldn't stop her if she did.

'_Damn.' _His cell-phone vibrated in his pocket, but the shock of heart failure didn't come; he inhaled slowly as he continued down the hall, the direction toward the restrooms. Goosebumps covered his skin, hair on the back of his neck standing up before he suddenly heard Rem's voice in his head.

'_Light, you find Anti-Kira and the Shinigami he's working with, that bastard won't get away with this.'_

'_What? Rem, how? My thoughts….'_

'_Doesn't matter, just find Anti-Kira and kill him, and give me the name of his Shinigami….the Shinigami that put the Demi-Shi mark on Misa.'_

'_Demi-Shi?'_

'_I'll explain more later, now find Anti-Kira, or I'll kill you.'_

Light swallowed and inhaled as Rem's voice dissipated from his head, though her threat hung strongly in his thoughts. He slowly closed his eyes, forcing his face to show no signs of stress while the anger burned in his stomach. Quietly he entered the restroom, locking the door after checking that no one else was there.

Stepping toward the sinks, he struck the wall next to the mirror with his fist, his cell-phone continuing to vibrate; he took another breath as he reached into his pocket, a shiver rushing down his spine.

'_Anti-Kira.' _His chest went cold as he checked the cell-phone's LCD screen: Misa's number displayed before his narrowing eyes. He kept his lips tightly pursed as he pressed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear. Silence welcomed him, punctuated by audible breaths on the other end -- his stomach twisted until he heard an unfamiliar voice speak.

"Too upset for words, Li-ght?"

Light's fingers tightened around the cell-phone, his teeth digging into his inner cheeks as he noticed the speaker's pronunciation of his name; his eyes narrowed even as he calmed his body down. _'This isn't the same person who called as Misa before. The one who called before pronounced my name like the English word, this one is using the Japanese pronunciation.'_

"Who is this?" Light asked, voice steady as he cleared his thoughts -- he needed to think quickly and thoroughly. _'That difference doesn't mean this isn't Anti-Kira…he could be using other people for his dirty work….'_ "You're not the one who called before."

"Oh? You've figured that out already?" The unfamiliar voice laughed with a note of disappointment blended in his tone. "But you don't know who's the real An---"

"Idiot." Light cut off the other's words, adrenaline pumping through him as he glanced at the restroom door. _'L could have Watari tracing this call back at Headquarters…any word about Anti-Kira or Kira will cause trouble for me….' _"Do you have any idea how easy it is to trace cell-phones or even listen in on the conversation?"

The sharp intake of breath on the other end followed by a curse answered Light's question. His chest burning, Light leaned against one of the sinks, fingers around the cell-phone white from the strength of his grip. His grip loosened as he heard ruffling noises on the other end followed by sharp beeps. _'Another cell-phone? Is he getting in touch with someone? This means he's not Anti-Kira but just someone working with Anti-Kira….'_

Light listened carefully, unable to make out much of the other conversation since the caller moved Misa's cell-phone from his lips. Seconds seemed minutes until Light heard sirens over the phone -- ambulance sirens. Smirking he bolted out the restroom door and hurried to the windows overlooking the grounds. An ambulance quickly passed by.

'_Got you.' _Light grinned as he watched a man talking on a cell-phone by some stairs, another cell-phone in his other hand -- Light glared down at the man and brought his cell back to his ear as the man did the same. Before the caller spoke another word, Light flipped off his cell-phone, chuckling as the man he watched reacted the same instant.

0

L exited Misa's hospital room seconds before Light rushed to the windows overlooking the grounds; his widening eyes took in his suspect's actions as he chewed on his thumbnail, noting the cell-phone in Light's hand. Lips parted from his thumbnail, L followed Light's glare out the window -- his heart beat wildly but the distance between them in the hall afforded them different views of the grounds.

'_The emergency room roof blocks my view of what he sees….' _L returned his gaze back to Light as he heard the college student's cell-phone shut.

He felt his heart jump at the expression on Light's face -- an arrogance he never saw before and the sharp glint of something not fully human: an expression he'd seen on serial killers before now multiplied hundredfold on Light's face.

'_Kira….' _L froze, lungs and veins punctured by what felt like ice; he shuddered and shifted his eyes from Light's face, feeling Light's glare shifting to him. _'Kira…100 percent…but no proof….'_

L's lungs felt heavy as fear gripped him like two cold hands ready to strangle; coldness severer than that of death seeped through him. Half-consciously he focused on his surroundings: on the task force entering the hall around him, on Light approaching and telling them about someone calling to brag about the attack on Misa. L noted Light mentioned nothing about Anti-Kira before the college student rushed to the exit, saying the culprit was outside, the task force following.

The detective's eyes followed the group even as his stance remained firm and still -- for the first time in his life L felt sick from fear.

"Light is Kira…." L whispered and bit down strikingly on his thumb, bringing pain and blood to the pale digit. The throbbing centered his thoughts and he hastened after the task force members.

0

Anti-Kira leaned back in her chair, eyes focused on the hospital windows on the 3rd floor even as the curious individual left. She chuckled into her drink as her eyes returned to the man by the stairs, the bewildered and fearful expression on his face fascinating her. "He's served his purpose."

Taking on of the Death-Notes from her bag and setting up a menu in front of her, Anti-Kira opened to a blank page, a red ballpoint pen in her hand.

"Are you going to write Light's name in your Death-Note?" Ryuk asked, floating above her; he read along as she wrote the name of the man by the steps followed by accident as the cause of death. He read the rest with a grin. "Light won't be fooled…."

Anti-Kira glanced up at the Shinigami, her chuckle silenced by her pursed lips.

"You like apples, don't you Ryuk?"

The Shinigami's eyes glistened with delight, his excitement shown by his hopping from one side of Anti-Kira's to the other, and then back.

"There's an apple tree behind my apartment building, you can have your fill if you keep out of Light's sight…at least keep far enough away from me so he won't immediately figure out who I am."

"All right." Ryuk flew to the right, hovering over the other tables with people sitting down. While Ryuk busied himself, glancing sparingly at the hospital entrance, Laskla leaned against Anti-Kira reading her entry in the Death-Note.

"You're not killing Kira? That's risky. Ryuk may not always respond to a bribe of apples, and we know Kira touched that Death-Note from Misa…."

"It's risky to kill Kira until I know who he was talking about when he mentioned someone tapping cell-phones."

"That might have been a ploy to…."

"…stop any mention of Anti-Kira or Kira by that tool." Anti-Kira motioned to the man by the steps with her eyes, the pale blue irises cold as she noticed the hospital doors opening; she removed her shades and returned the Death-Note to her bag as she watched Light Yagami accost the man by the steps. "It's too dangerous until I know, besides, I didn't get a clear enough look at Kira's face."

"You didn't? But your eyes are even better than normal Shinigami eyes…."

"He looks too much like _that _bastard."

Laskla glared back at Light next to the man, nodding as he realized what Anti-Kira meant -- besides being too young, the brown haired Death-Note holder did resemble someone from the past.

"You already killed your brother…."

"Brother _and_ father, that bastard was both, hence the reason they locked me in that cellar." Anti-Kira clenched her teeth, fingernails digging into the skin of her folded hands; she remained that way until the commotion began.

0

Light gasped as the man whose arm he held seized, breaking from the college student's grip as his body jerked; footsteps hurried from behind as the man in a violent spasm struck his head on the stairway rail. Light's widened eyes watched the man roll to the bottom step, completely limp. Still.

'_Damn…damn….' _Light felt his insides shaking, the urge to strike something bubbling beneath his skin. He stared at the dead man as the task force rushed forward checking the body and pushing away the crowd beginning to form.

L watched from the top step, teeth chewing at his thumbnail as he slouched forward slightly; the metallic taste from the open wound on his thumb bringing back the ice feeling from earlier. He inhaled and exhaled slowly until it dissipated, then he switched to chewing on his other thumb. His black-pupil eyes took in the dead man surrounded by Task Force members before scanning the crowd, the chance of Anti-Kira being among the onlookers was high. The probability of finding him depended on Anti-Kira's intelligence.

'_80...85 percent chance of Anti-Kira being in this crowd -- that is if this was a trap to figure out if Yagami-kun is Kira or to bring Kira out in order to kill him….' _L carefully glanced over the crowd again, teeth parting from his thumbnail as one of the onlookers seemed more focused on the living than the dead. Placing his hands in his jean pockets, he descended the steps after Light; his black-pupil eyes expressionless as they watched their main suspect's back. _'Since the day the death-note's existence was proven fact, Yagami-kun seemed steps ahead of me -- steps I couldn't bridge….'_

L paused at the bottom step, the coldness gripping him as clear as the pain from his wounded thumb; he glanced once more at Light's back, the step's elevation giving him the illusion of height. He faced toward the dead man, police sirens and stretcher wheels approaching -- but his eyes side-glanced at the crowd, focusing on the suspicious onlooker through his messy strands of hair.

'_No doubt, that one is focused on the Task Force and Light, the deceased victim received no first glance from those pale blue eyes. The only onlooker who wouldn't care about the victim is Anti-Kira.'_

L's eyes slightly widened then narrowed as he saw the androgynous, reddish black haired onlooker bite down on her forefinger, the back of his neck suddenly tingling. He immediately focused on Light and the task force, his quickened pulse pumping beneath his skin.

'_If Light notices….' _L glanced up at his main suspect, heart thumping as his face became viewable to the onlooker.

0

Pale blue eyes obscured only by her red tinted black bangs, Anti-Kira reached the front of the crowd, pretending to be an onlooker; her sharp eyes fixed on Light as he descended the stairs -- his expression still angry, but showing the appropriate level of concern. Anti-Kira grinned as she read his name, the contours of his face burned into her memory.

'_Kira…Light Yagami.' _Her index finger sneaked to her lips, teeth habitually sinking into the flesh of the pale digit. Her eyes strayed from Light's face, glancing over each person at the center surrounding the victim.

'…_Matsuda….Ya…Soichiro Yagami? Is he related to Light? But…these people seem like law enforcement….why? How?' _Anti-Kira continued chewing on her finger, the skin red but not yet bleeding; her incisors struck deep when the man who stood next to Light glanced around the group, his long-sleeved white shirt and blue jeans odd among the group. His face suddenly visible to Anti-Kira's eyes.

Black pupil eyes, heavily darkened beneath white skin that lacked sunlight, dark hair wild and maybe slightly uncombed -- Anti-Kira broke the skin on her finger before his jaw loosened, lips parted slightly.

'_He…it couldn't….' _Her pulse drummed inside her ears, throat going dry while her feet seemed rooted to the ground; blurred memories from five years ago flashed before her eyes. The next instant she backtracked into the crowd until she could run from the scene, picking up the bag with the two Death-Notes before she hastened away.

**A/N: **This was a long chapter, over 3,000 words (not including this author note), so I hope it makes up for the wait. Oh, by the way, I uploaded a Death Note MPD Psycho crossover a few days ago titled **Kira C**, but because where it's located and its rating of M no one has really read it yet...it's only has gotten a few hits, and one review from a friend of mine on this site. I'd appreciate it if those who read this fic would read that one. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	5. Chance

A/N: There's a long memory sequence in this chapter though I planned it to be much shorter.

**Nameless Exception**

**Chapter 5**: Chance

L stood alone on the roof at headquarters, eyes hidden by strands of his hair; quietly he gazed down at his thumb, the wound bandaged by Watari, yet he still felt the grip of cold hands around his throat as his eyes focused on it. He never believed before that he might lose -- he had preparations for it, had often considered the possibility -- but he never actually believed it would happen.

That all changed the moment he saw Light's expression in that hospital corridor. He'd unwittingly seen Kira's true face, its coldness and lack of conscience beyond anything he'd imagined -- he couldn't describe it except to relate it to the effect Mr. Hyde's face had on those who met him in Stevenson's novella.

"Light Yagami…." L gazed up at the overbearing sun, his pale face illuminated by its falling rays; he watched as the sparse clouds gently inched along the vast blue space. "….Kira, you'll do anything to achieve your ends, yet I…." His uninjured thumb unconsciously made it to his lips; the taboo idea he'd buried deep in his subconscious the fear freezing his chest now exhumed. It _struggled_ to breathe, but it _did_ breathe.

The Death Note was back at Headquarters….

"What am I thinking? That'll make me the same as Kira." L mumbled, chewing his thumbnail -- the instinctive fear of death suffocating as he struggled to rebury the thought. "I'd prefer to avoid death…but bringing Kira to the justice of the law is what I seek…."

His cell phone's ring pulled him from his current thought trail and bringing him to another -- 30 minutes after the hospital accident he'd had Watari research some information about a case 5 years ago.

The Cellar Murder Case, he'd classified it under, known also as the Cellar Child Incident, where the attack of a serial murderer on a suburban American family had revealed the intentional imprisonment of the family's 13 year old child in the home's cellar. The irony of it being that the _serial murderer _had been the one to alert the authorities after finding the child chained in the cellar.

L remembered the disgust and mystification he'd experienced when the case unfolded in the media -- disgust at the extreme of the abuse and the reason it had been done, and mystification over how it'd been discovered. Someone who had killed over 30 people in cold blood had enough qualms to bring the abused child to the attention of the police and face arrest when he'd could've just left or killed the child and evaded detection.

Phone to his ear, held by his forefinger and thumb, L thought of the case as he listened to Watari -- the older man confirming the suspicions he'd had since he saw his suspected Anti-Kira run from the crowd.

"It most likely is her. Pick her up and bring her to headquarters, but don't let her be seen. Especially not by Yagami-kun, if he knows Anti-Kira has already been found…." L listened as Watari agreed, not needing to be told more before ending the call.

'_Kira, I wonder how you'll respond to the chance I'm taking…Anti-Kira could view me as a threat and kill me….'_

L gazed once more at the sky, the sun hidden by thin clouds that quietly drifted away; the fear gripping his throat lessened a degree as the corner of his lips twitched.

'_The first time I saw her was at the orphanage….'_

0

Anti-Kira lied on the balcony's threshold, arm pulled over her eyes, hiding the pale orbs from view; her brain teeming with memories swirling into blurs as something echoed in the back of her mind. It pushed forth one particular memory:

'_Children screeched and hollered around her, sounds she drowned out by slapping her hands over her ears -- not cupping them but actually striking the sides of her head; she didn't feel the pain as she sat by the wall, pale blue eyes taking in their surroundings without a blink._

_She flinched when hands grabbed her arms, stopping them from beating against her ears -- immediately she stilled, her body going limp instinctively waiting for the expected blows. When they didn't come she peeked up at who held her arms, surprised at how bright her surroundings were -- it took a few seconds to remember she wasn't in the cellar._

"_It's not good for you to hurt yourself, you're safe here."_

_She simply stared at the face above her, unaccustomed to seeing other people -- the shadows of the cellar had always blocked her family's faces. The words went mostly unnoticed by her though her body cringed at the word hurt; all the others were foreign spoken aloud._

"_Let's go to a quieter room, shall we?" The face above her smiled while she remained seated, instead turning to her right._

'_He wants to bring you to a room without the noise.' Laskla sat beside her, explaining the words spoken by the man above her. His words he conveyed telepathically through the shadows twisting around his and the girl's bodies._

'_Where is this again, Laskla?' She asked the Shinigami, her meaning clear to him even with the incorrect grammar. She watched his scarred face as he looked at the ceiling than back at her. His next words corrected her sentence: Where am I? or What is this place?_

_He waited until she corrected her question before he answered it._

'_What is this place?'_

'_A place called an orphanage.' Laskla stretched out his wings and hovered above her until she stood up, noting how the human who'd spoken to the girl now stared at her curiously. 'It'd be better if you didn't look at me so much while around other humans…you're the only one that can see me.'_

_She averted her eyes back to the human still holding her arms, her pale blue eyes intense as they stared unblinkingly at the man's face, taking in the wrinkles and gray hair silently. Soon she followed along as the man brought her to another room -- one more quiet and subdued._

"_Ah." She uttered, her eyes quickly taking in her surroundings; across from the door were two book shelves stuffed with books, their bindings a myriad of colors and shades. Ripping her hand away from the man she ran toward them, already telepathically begging Laskla to read to her._

'_Well, you're out of that cellar so you can read them yourself…after you learn how to….' _

_Laskla glanced behind him at the man who'd brought the girl to the room -- the man had turned to a much younger man staring at a computer screen and eating ice cream. He started a conversation the next moment._

_The Shinigami noted the younger man's peculiar sitting position -- crouching with knees level to the chest -- and the paleness of his skin. Laskla tilted his head as he listened to the conversation between the men, his interest on the younger as the man licked at his ice cream cone between every few words._

'_I wonder if Desu will like that…she never had much variety of food while locked up….' Laskla glanced back at the girl, eyes widening at not finding her by the book shelves; he quickly looked around and gaped when he saw her standing beside the two men, staring intently at the younger man's ice cream._

_It took only a few seconds for the two men to notice the girl, and only a second more for the girl to grab the ice cream cone from the younger man's hand._

"_My ice cream…" L lost his footing on the chair, not expecting the girl's strong grip as she wrestled the cone from his hand. He steadied himself before he fell face-first on the floor, his black-pupil eyes staring despondently as the girl devoured the ice cream, finishing half of it before he even stepped forward. "My ice cream…."_

"_Ah, little Miss." Watari reached the girl before L, though the ice cream was pretty much devoured by the time his initial shock wore off. "Don't take things without asking." He glanced at L, his eyebrows raised as he saw the detective's expression -- even though it hadn't changed much from L's normal countenance, it still gave off the sense of despondency equivalent to a five year old losing his favorite treat._

"_Seems I will require another ice cream…and this girl another room to play in."_

The sharp knock on the apartment door broke her reverie, crashing violently on her ears; she cringed unnoticeably and bit her lip while sitting up, her pale eyes narrowed at the door. Beside her, eyeing the outside yard as Ryuk made use of the apple tree hidden behind the apartment complex, Laskla stiffened and turned toward the apartment door; his ears focused on the sounds coming from behind it. Before Anti-Kira moved he already hovered to the door and poked his head through the door to see the visitor.

"It's that old man from that orphanage five years ago…." Laskla retreated back to Anti-Kira's side, his Shinigami eyes glimmering with suspicion. He recalled the brief stay at the orphanage, the four months there were a necessity -- after escaping that cellar Anti-Kira's younger self needed connections to others humans, connections that would increase her language skills. Particularly her writing skills -- otherwise giving her a Death Note would've been useless.

"….so that guy in that group was…." Anti-Kira brought her finger to her teeth but froze before she bit down; her narrowed pale blue eyes stared at her finger and her lips grimaced as she remembered her finger biting habit had been known at the orphanage. Actually, she had started it at the orphanage. It was an enduring habit resulting from her mimicking other humans to learn during those first four months outside that cellar. _'But if he is that detective…what was L doing near Kira? If he's so near to Kira why not arrest him? Doesn't he have proof…?'_

Anti-Kira wiped off her finger and reached for the doorknob; she opened the door a crack even as Laskla protested behind her.

"What do you want?" She watched Watari, something within her prodding her to allow the old man entrance, a soft vibration like a voice telling her to trust him. Her fingers flexed then relaxed, and she chewed on her tongue slightly before she opened the door wider and backed away.

'_Desu! Why are you just letting that man in? He's most likely Kira's enemy and your enemy!' _Laskla glared at the old man, the impulse to take out his Death Note strong though he stilled it. He watched as Anti-Kira stood in the middle of the room, expression anti-social and hands in her pockets, elbows arched outwardly; her pale blue eyes stared unblinkingly as Watari shut the door behind him and faced her.

"What do you want?" She asked bluntly again, her insides shaking and the small something within her that prodded her to trust returned to its silence.

"L wishes to speak to you." Watari held out a cell phone after pressing the speed dial button and answering it; he pressed the speaker button when Anti-Kira failed to reach for it. Stillness fell onto the room as L's voice spoke from the cell-phone's speaker.

"Ice-chan, it is 90 percent certain that you are Anti-Kira. Consider yourself under house arrest until such a time that I can question you. Watari has opted to watch you until then."

**End of Chapter**

**A/N: **I just had to put in that scene of L's ice cream getting stolen by Anti-Kira's younger self; every time I imagined that scene I had to laugh, just think about L's expression if someone did that, especially a L five years younger, five years less mature.

Anti-Kira doesn't have a set name though Laskla calls her Desu (there's significance to this that I will reveal later) and L calls her Ice (as a reference to the ice cream theft when they first met).

Mr. Hyde is a reference to The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, in the novella Mr. Hyde's appearance, while bearing no physical blemish or flaw, instills disgust and horror in those he meets, like they can sense the evil inside him.


	6. Rendezvous

**Nameless Exception**

**Chapter 6:**

Light slammed his fist on the table, the impact upsetting the pile of papers and stacks of books on the smooth surface. His outburst drew the attention of the task force members, and sensing their stares he bit his inner cheek; the pain gave him something more to focus on rather than the frustration burning inside him.

The frustration and fear shuddering inside….

The event at the hospital had been a trap, Anti-Kira needed his face to kill him and any one of those onlookers could've been Anti-Kira. Any moment Anti-Kira could write his name in his or her Death Note, any moment he could die from a heart attack or an accident or whatever means Anti-Kira chose. At any time.

'_Anti-Kira, your mistake will be not writing my name in your Death Note the moment you knew my face…to not make that moment my death….I won't delude myself into thinking I escaped detection.' _Light leaned his forehead against his folded hands, arms propped on the table, his face now obscured from view. _'…that you forced Misa to surrender ownership of the Death Note, and put what Rem called the Demi-Shi mark on her….you've ruined my plans, Rem will kill you instead of L to save Misa's life….' _Light closed his eyes, remembering Rem's words after she inspected Misa's condition more carefully after the Anti-Kira decoy's death.

-- '_…the Demi-Shi mark on Misa isn't a normal one made by a Shinigami….it may have been made by Anti-Kira himself….'_

'_Human's can make Demi-Shi?'_

'_No, not normal humans….only those who've been marked as Demi-Shi themselves….' _--

Light removed his hands from his forehead, instead placing them over his lips. _'Anti-Kira, I'll hunt you down with the task force and L's assistance, and….'_ He sharply inhaled, brown eyes widening as they searched the room -- their focus driven to the wheeled seat by the computers and the sweet laden tray beside it. Both untouched. _'L…he hasn't returned….it couldn't be….'_ He quickly glanced at his watch, heart jumping as the 45th minute since L left the room passed. _'Could Anti-Kira have…? Or did L….?'_

Light glared at the table, though he focused on nothing around him, his vision blurring as thought swam through him. _'Wait, L isn't so direct that he'd confront Anti-Kira himself, he'd at least make it known to the task force…it's not as though he has a guarantee Anti-Kira won't kill him….'_

Light broke from his thought as his ears picked up the task force members voices, their concerns over L's absence spoken with increasing worry and suspicions.

0

Anti-Kira closed her eyes and tilted her head, hands still in her pockets. The dark hue of her jeans and shirt absorbed the light leaking in from the windows; she flinched as Watari switched on the lamp beside the room entrance -- the sudden sound not as unendurable as the brightness greeting her eyes when they fluttered open. Half-lidded while they adjusted themselves, her eyes locked on Watari who spoke to L on the cell-phone, the tension still within the room.

Laskla hissed beside her, his monstrous Shinigami eyes glaring at the old man, every molecule of his form bristled and ready to strike or flee.

"You've grown a lot, Ice-chan." Watari noted as he pressed the end button on the cell-phone, his eyes softening almost unnoticeably as he studied her, recalling her four month stint at Wammy's House.

Five years ago, the young girl seemed much younger than her 13 years and yet exuded a presence that belied her age. Almost autistic during that first month, Ice-chan had quickly resorted to mimicking the other children, developing language skills with the rapidness of a two year old and the intelligence of an young adult.

It'd been almost eerie. He'd often wondered if some angel had watched over her during those four months, one that whispered in her ear and taught her the skills she needed.

Seeing her now, and knowing L's suspicions of her being Anti-Kira, he realized she'd probably did have something hovering around her back then. It just hadn't been an angel.

"L will be here within an hour, until he comes I must insist that you stay within my sight and not make any hasty movements. Perhaps we could sit?" He nodded toward a table and chairs to the left of them, waiting until she responded by walking to the farthest one and sitting on the wooden seat. Her legs dangled loosely off the floor and her body slouched slightly forward, she averted her eyes from his face as he sat down on the other chair. _'Almost like….'_

Watari shook his head before he finished the thought, the gesture catching Anti-Kira's attention. He felt his heart jump as her pale blue eyes roamed over his face; eyes lined red that avoided staring too long at him and that squinted slightly. He almost questioned her about it until he realized -- the lamp was behind him.

"You're still sensitive to light, aren't you? Even after five years." Watari sighed at his forgetfulness and placed himself so he blocked most of the direct lamp-light. The next second his eyebrow raised as he heard Anti-Kira's chuckle.

Anti-Kira mouthed the word 'light', the corners of her lips partly upturned as she chuckled in her thoughts. _'Light's my enemy in more ways than one now….'_

'_Desu, now is not the time to make jokes,_" Laskla braced himself in the shadows to her right, red orbs locked on the old man to their left._ 'This man is working with the detective sworn to stop Kira…he's Kira's enemy…your enemy.'_

' _Yet doesn't that saying go 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend?' Laskla?' _Anti-Kira grinned at the Shinigami's groan, forefinger unconsciously at her lips as she snuck a glance at Laskla. She heard something like a stifled cough from Watari before her apartment door opened, drawing both of their attentions.

0

Light cursed. He and the Taskforce had scoured the building searching for L, yet the detective hadn't turned up. There had been signs of him having been on the roof, but he'd left without notifying them or leaving any other clue. Except….

"It can't be a coincidence that he leaves now after what happened at the hospital….the only question is…." Light entered an unused room, the Taskforce members returning to the main investigation room in case L contacted them there; Light's fist clenched as he struggled against the outburst bubbling inside. "Whether Anti-Kira did something or if L discovered Anti-Kira's identity…."

'_Since Anti-Kira has made moves against me, it's less likely that he wants to kill L…at least not until I'm gone…and more likely that he'll want to join L. Or perhaps neither.' _Light bit down on his lip, his brown eyes narrowed at the far wall and hair matted to his forehead from sweat. _'It's possible that L discovered something I overlooked…possible that he somehow discovered Anti-Kira's identity and decided to confront him. No.'_

Light shook his head, eyes glinting dangerously as the meaning of such a meeting occurred to him. Red alarms flashed in his thoughts -- L would know for certain that those rules he added to the Death Note were fake if the detective confronted Anti-Kira.

'_Foolish, L. Confronting someone like Anti-Kira will more than likely bring your death. What could you possibly be thinking? True, Anti-Kira's help can convict me…or at least connect me to Misa being Kira II, but this Death Note user killed innocent people! Ill people! Unless you know he won't kill you….'_

"It's not like Anti-Kira is someone he knows…an aquaintence or something…." Light mumbled, his stomach clenching before he finished his sentence, his thoughts drifted back to earlier at the hospital. There had been someone who'd seemed strange. Someone who'd left the scene soon after their arrival -- Light gulped before his lip half-turned upwards, the laugh within him struggling to escape his throat.

'_If Anti-Kira was there, it has to be the person who took off soon after noticing L…the one with the reddish-black hair who'd been at the front of the crowd.' _Light breathed deeply through his nose as his memory came back clearer without the baggage of fear. He could regain control and kill (or use) Anti-Kira. _'Now that I think about it….that one individual focused on me and the Taskforce solely, rather than on the victim…I was too worried about being killed to notice at the time, but…I know Anti-Kira's face now.'_

"And so does L." Light smirked, eyes hidden behind brown strands of hair resting against his forehead. "I see his plan…confront Anti-Kira in private and use their alliance to trap me….too bad I know now, too bad Anti-Kira's testimony against me won't be enough -- who'd believe someone who killed terminally-ill people? Even L…."

'_Wait, L wouldn't side with someone worse than Kira, even if he knew the person…he's the type who'd put someone he calls a friend behind bars or worse….why….'_

"Idiot." Light cursed and massaged his right temple, derisive curve to his lips as the words 'terminally-ill' filled his thoughts once more. "The one common factor between the victims are that they were ill, most terminally. The possibility that these were mercy-killings…perhaps requested by the victims….damn."

"Light." Rem phased through the wall next to the teen, noticing his surprise through the slight widening of eyes and drawing in of breath. The next moment these were replaced by anger and brooding. "I discovered the Shinigami that's most likely with Anti-Kira."

Light's lips twitched. His eyes once more hidden behind his hair. _'Perfect.'_

"This Shinigami was exiled 1000 years ago by the Shinigami King and his name is Laskla. Trouble is he doesn't follow any rules he can break, and he's completely un-killable." Rem materialized a sheet of paper that was a strange shade of white and imprinted with an alien language. "Another Shinigami was sent to deliver me and Ryuk this information, but Ryuk can't be found. Probably Laskla is cloaking him as well."

Light turned to Rem, his eyes a calm brown as he absorbed her words, his expression saying to continue.

"Laskla started a war 1000 years ago, and now he broke Shinigami Law by making a Demi-Shi, so the Shinigami King ordered his capture and the death of his Demi-Shi by any means necessary."

"What is Laskla like? Would he protect Anti-Kira or leave him to die?"

"That will not work. Laskla alone can prolong human life and not be killed. Nothing can kill him, he doesn't even have to kill to prolong his life." Rem glared at Light, her eyes saying very clear _'I know what your plan was, to destroy me through Misa. That will not happen now.' _"Demi-Shi don't need to be protected anyway. Once fully turned, they are invulnerable to physical injury and unable to die."

"Oh?" _'then why are you angry about Misa being marked a Demi-Shi?'_

"Demi-Shi also lose their freewill as long as their creator lives."

Light's eyes widened, his shock gradually fading into wild exhilaration, held back yet expressive on his face. The approaching evening crawling slowly beyond the room's windows, sneaking in with the clouds specked along the sky.

"Then we have time. Anti-Kira isn't a full Demi-Shi yet. His finger bled." Light smirked at the remembered image of his suspected Anti-Kira -- the forefinger showed signs of recent bleeding with an open wound raw amid the white skin. "Of course, Anti-Kira could be female, the individual I saw was too androgynous to tell."

"You saw…?"

"Yes. Outside the hospital, I've only recently realized it, but I'm sure Anti-Kira was there, and I'm sure L noticed too."

0

L stared at Anti-Kira, his approach paused as he observed her hair, facial features, and body. The cold blue eyes stared back at him through black hair strands, their fierceness unusual as L compared his memory of her to her present appearance.

"Ice-chan, I'm 90 percent certain you are Anti-Kira. You were at the hospital incident earlier, and I know your ability to mimic voices. You were the 'Misa' who called Light not too long ago." L brought his thumb to his lip, sliding it over the soft skin as he studied his suspect's response. Anti-Kira simply stared back at him. "I also know those murders at the hospital were mercy-killings. Names and photos were submitted to a website named Death-Mercy/Kira-Mercy."

Watari stared at L in surprise at the new information -- he'd trusted the detective when L informed him the chances of Anti-Kira attacking him were low, but L hadn't informed him about the reasons. The old man turned back to Anti-Kira after he noticed L's smirking at her, his shiny eyes locked on the fingertip between Anti-Kira's lips.

"I guess that's a bad habit I shouldn't have done around you." L spoke, eyes glancing at the ceiling before returning to Anti-Kira's pursed lips and tense cheeks. "Not while you were copying those around you during your first month at the orphanage."

"Tell me what you want." Anti-Kira moved her hands back to her pockets, stance straighter than L's, though she tilted her head to the side.

"I want you to shut down your Death-Mercy and Kira-Mercy sites…in a few days. And…tell me the truth about two dubious rules in the Death Note retrieved by the Taskforce."

"No request to reveal Kira's identity right now? No wanting to hear a confession from me?"

"If I thought I could get either from you, I'd ask. Besides, I'm certain of who Kira is, I simply need proof, and evidence coming from someone who killed innocent people won't suffice. Your not denying you're Anti-Kira is a confession in itself."

Anti-Kira glared at L as Ryuk entered the room through the patio window, the Shinigami holding many apples in his arms. L's black eyes followed the floating apples as they approached and stopped, unable to see Ryuk; his lips twitched as he noticed Anti-Kira's whitening cheek, her gaze still locked on him.

"I guess Shinigami do love apples."

"_Ryuk! You idiot! You ruined Desu's deniability!" _Laskla growled at the struck-dumb Shinigami, apples still held tightly in Ryuk's arms. _"After telling you to stay out of sight, couldn't you have spent five more minutes at the apple tree?"_

"_These are the only apples left…." _Ryuk shook off his shock at seeing the detective and old man talking to Anti-Kira and moved the apples to the couch, eating a few on the way. _"Promise was I'd keep out of the way if I can have my fill on apples."_

"_You ate them all? All the apples in that tree?" _Laskla floated to the patio window and cursed at the ravaged remains of the apple tree. Ryuk had even taken the unripe apples from the branches. _"You addict…."_

"There is absolutely no denying you're Anti-Kira now, Ice-chan. There's a Shinigami here. Now do as I requested or I'll be forced to bring you into custody, and I'd rather not give Kira an easy chance to kill you."

Anti-Kira sighed but said nothing. Her eyes glancing at Ryuk and Laskla arguing while the former munched on apples.

"I'd rather he use you as a new ally in his effort against me. As a spy of course."


	7. Brainstorm

**Nameless Exception**

**Chapter 7: Brainstorm**

L mulled over the words he said to Ice-chan; Mulled over the idea he hadn't expected to bring up so soon upon meeting with her -- having his suspicion of her being Anti-Kira confirmed so suddenly by the entrance of the Shinigami had brought it forth. _'I was 80% certain that Ice-chan had a connection to Anti-Kira after seeing her at that scene outside the hospital…but that she was Anti-Kira was only 60% likely….'_

'_Taking chances sometimes brings unexpected results….Though chances are low for Light not figuring out my plan. However, I'm one of the few Ice-chan ever trusted….'_

L bit on his thumb nail, wincing a little as he reopened the wound and looked up at the car's ceiling. _'Though it's probable if I died, that Ice-chan will just kill Light….'_

0

Laskla stared through the window as the detective and old man drove off, his eyes glinting dangerously though he stilled himself against making unneeded moves. He recalled the lifespan he'd seen over the detective's head and calculated it into human time. _'Won't live past age 31, that human, barring any interference from Shinigami.'_

"Ryuk, you ate all of those apples? Have you never heard of self-control?" Anti-Kira glared at the Shinigami hovering above her, slicing through his request for more apples. "No more apples for you. What was in the tree should've lasted at least a week."

"I'll go find Light then. He'll give me plenty of apples."

"No you won't Ryuk. By now the Shinigami King must've been alerted to Demi-Shi being created. And you're cloaked from his radar….with your history of flaunting the rules yourself…he might believe you sided with me." Laskla smirked at the more inhuman looking Shinigami. "That'll mean death."

"Wha….Laskla, you…." Ryuk glared at Laskla, raising his clawed hand as though to strike his fellow Shinigami. Instead he flew through the wall and into a neighboring room -- the apartment's bedroom.

"And recall that you _almost _joined one of my previous rebellions." Laskla called after Ryuk's retreating form, the taunt noticeable in his tone -- the taunt also a threat. _'I'll make sure you're no longer trusted if you do anything to jeopardize my plan, Ryuk. You don't have to participate, but you can't betray me.'_

Anti-Kira watched the scene as she sat down on the couch. Her pale eyes hidden by her bangs with her head tilted back, she shifted her gaze to the gray-white ceiling and recalled L's words. _'He want's me to spy on Kira? That's not possible…not if Kira becomes certain I'm Anti-Kira.'_

She closed her eyes, lips twitching as she listened to the silence and the thoughts in her head. She sensed Laskla hovering above her, but she barred his telepathy as she exhaled and allowed inspiration to come to her.

'_It's said that to fool one's enemy, one must fool their friends first….but by myself I'm no match for either….'_

Her eyes shot open. "That's it."

0

_--"Ice-chan, please do not follow me." L sighed as he watched the fragile looking 13 year old approach. He observed her eyes trailing from right to left and then back as she listened, her way of concentrating on spoken word. "Go back to the playroom." _

"…_please do not follow…" Ice-chan repeated, gaze aimed at the floor though she focused on the words. L's eyes widened a sliver as he too listened to her words, his focus on her voice more than the repetition. One week had passed since the ice-cream incident._

'_She's not just mimicking the words…that _sounds_ like my voice.' The corner of his mouth curved upwards, his thumb rubbing over his bottom lip. 'A compensation in order to learn faster? Thirteen's awfully late to learn a first language after all.'_

"_Please do follow." Her own voice sounded hollow, the words unornamented with feeling or intonation; the gentleness of her pale blue eyes asked the true question._

_L sighed and wished Watari would appear and lead the girl back to the playroom of the orphanage, he didn't have patience to baby-sit and teach someone without a full grasp of any language. 'Why couldn't there be a case where'd it be necessary to leave the orphanage?'_

"_Please do follow."_

"_Ice-chan, the proper way to ask is 'Please let me' or 'may I.'" L returned to walking down the hall, expecting the girl to continue following him without another word._

"_Please let me follow." Her voice reached his ears, the tone crisp yet seeming vulnerable. L turned around and locked widened eyes on her form -- she hadn't taken a step since he resumed walking._

"_Ice-chan…" L swallowed and then sighed once more. "No. Do not follow me." He waited before walking away, glancing back twice to make sure she didn't follow; the possibility of her staying there slipping his mind. --_

-

'_I caught hell for that from Watari…' _L frowned, staring into his cup of sweetened tea as he remembered the result of his oversight. _'Ice-chan remained in that hall the rest of the day and all night, even after Watari found her she refused to budge….Watari refused to buy me sweets for an entire week.'_

"Ryuzaki…." Watari glanced back at L from the driver's seat, the frown and motionless silence alarming to the old man as he tried to surmise the detective's thoughts. "What reason will you give the Taskforce for our sudden disappearances? We've been gone too long for something trivial…."

"The truth…that I recognized a suspect for Anti-Kira and decided to investigate immediately, also that I required your help placing cameras and bugs in the suspect's apartment since I didn't wish to wait for approval."

"Ryuzaki! That will make the Taskforce's opinion…."

"Irrelevant. Ice-chan allowed it, it's perfectly legal compared to what else I've done during this investigation. The Taskforce and Light-kun just won't know it. Well…" L sipped his tea and placed it back in the specialized cup holder in the vehicle. "Light-kun might figure it out…we both have the same cards, but what matters is who has the wild-card."

"But can we trust Ice-chan? She connected to you five years ago, but now…."

"It's too late to change things, Watari." L gazed at the old man with silent relief and appreciation.

_--"It's too dangerous to confront her yourself, Ryuzaki. You're still needed to convict Kira. Allow me to confront her first, that way if she's Anti-Kira and anything happens you're still alive."--_

"You risked your life confronting Ice-chan first. Thank you."

0

'_Damn Laskla, what is your plan?' _Ryuk lied down on the mattress, trying to think of ways to contact Light or Rem as well as why Laskla would suddenly make such open moves. _'Still angry about that human's death? You never had pride as a Shinigami.'_

Ryuk turned over, head propped up by his arm as he narrowed his eyes in thought, the next second giving a sneering laugh. Laskla's most recent features radiating a human quality.

'_By making Demi-Shi, Shinigami absorb the humanness from their creations while the Demi-Shi absorb the Shinigami-qualities of their creators.' _Ryuk flexed his wings and gazed at them proudly, his lips curving into a wide smirk. _'How many Demi-Shi did you make over the years to become so human Laskla? And why did you keep none of them?'_

Anti-Kira leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom, eyes locked on the Shinigami as she waited. Laskla knew her bedroom was off-limits, and thus he would wait outside -- his expectation that she'll yell at Ryuk for trespassing. Her lips slid into a smile and head tilted as Ryuk noticed her presence, his eyes glowing angrily as he glanced behind her.

"Laskla knows he's not allowed in this room…neither are you as I told you the moment we arrived." Anti-Kira approached Ryuk before the Shinigami could respond, his glare losing some anger as he observed her. "That's besides the point, however, I have a new plan to make things interesting…."

"Are you going to spy on Light like L wants you to?"

"Heh. All you need to know is if you follow my plan, I'll provide you with 5 apples per day. And the opportunity to escape Laskla's watch…."

Ryuk glanced over Anti-Kira's form and noticed that the shadows connecting her and Laskla had weakened since L's visit. The shadows were lighter, and the Demi-Shi mark slightly faded, though the space above Anti-Kira head remained blank. There was not hint of a name among the fading darkness above her head.

'_Did this human _ever_ have a name? Does she even know what Laskla's trying to do?'_

"If it's interesting, and I get apples, I'll do it."

0

"Inexcusable Ryuzaki! Installing listening devices and cameras without passing it by us, without regard to privacy-laws or protections….or even safety precautions!" Soichiro confronted the slouching detective after listening to his disappearance excuse. The room had grown tense with every word L said, the relief each of them felt seeing L return swallowed by the disbelief of the detective's blatant disregard for privacy rights.

"I didn't wish to waste time arguing about something I'd do anyway." L picked a piece of cheesecake from the tray by his chair, strawberry topping drizzled over the creamy confection. He lifted a forkful into his mouth while listening to the giving in sighs of the taskforce members.

"You could have least informed us and gotten someone else to install them. We thought…." Soichiro glanced at the other taskforce members, reading the relief in each expression where fear had lived only minutes before.

"I apologize for worrying each of you." L placed his fork beside his plate and turned his chair to face them, noticing that Light alone remained calm and composed. His suspect stood off to the side, those brown eyes closely watching the detective, betraying nothing but a cool reserve. "But I didn't want to make the same mistake twice. Installing cameras myself guarantees the suspect won't be alerted to our investigation."

The room froze, filling with silence as the stunned officers glanced from L to Light.

"Ryuzaki, you suspect my son somehow knew about the cameras and bugs at the start of the investigation? That he knew…."

"The moment he was so quickly cleared those first few days of the cameras being installed, I suspected he might have known. Now that I think about it, slipping a paper in a door to tell if someone had been inside _is_ useless. Something easily deceived can only catch the unsuspecting off guard."

Light gritted his teeth against L's words, not surprised that L suspected, or that L brought it up; still L's words riled his nerves.

'_Knowing that mistake won't help you, L. I already know you suspect me and there's no proof to put suspicion back on me….'_

L rotated his chair back to facing the monitors, black pupil eyes glancing over the cheesecake while picking up the fork between his forefinger and thumb. He dug into the confection eagerly as he read over the opened files on the center monitor, licking the sweet dessert from the utensil before biting on the tines in thought.

0

Anti-Kira stepped onto the balcony as it started drizzling, the cool moisture wetting her black hair, making it darker and cling to her cheeks. She closed her eyes as the wind breezed past, lifting up the ends of her hair softly before disappearing into the distance. The dabbed with gray clouds blocked her view of the night sky, yet she imagined it as deep purple and black as it had been two years prior. Exactly two years.

The day she got revenge on her father, who'd escaped from the serial killer and authorities, for locking her in that cellar.

"…_disgusting and hideous your existence was…" Her step-mother stood next to the wall, wringing her hands and looking anywhere other than at her; bloodshot eyes that glanced at her father -- her mother's son -- for a second before glaring at the walls, sink, garbage._

"_Something about you was wrong…you needed….it'd been a mistake…." Her father, brown hair tangled from fingers running through it, and pale skin stood closest to her, yet he kept fidgeting. His pale eyes glinted unreadable-ly._

_Suddenly she saw herself reach for her death note, the rage whelming inside as she wrote the names and sentence down on the dooming page. Her hand scribbled the words she hadn't thought to write, yet knew would make her feel empowered._

_--….die from pain inflicted by stab wounds and cuts sliced all over by another party….the pain lasts for 15 to 30 minutes, intensifying until the brain shuts down….--_

_She flipped shut the death note and opened her switchblade. Thunder and lightning sliced through the air as she approached._

"Desu? Those cameras are all over the apartment…how will you…."

"I'll win against Kira, I'll push the Death Note to its limits, beyond them if possible….hell." Anti-Kira glared down at the city streets, her pale blue eyes narrowed and gleamed scarlet. "Kira doesn't know what it's like directly killing someone, to be the one to write the death _and_ pull the trigger --or stab the knife through the heart. If Kira's only means to kill is the Death Note, I will win."

"Desu…."

"…it may not be possible to cause a Death Note victim to murder, but causing them to be murdered is a cinch…." She glanced at the Shinigami now standing beside her, her lips a straight line with just the hint of a curve. "Laskla, bring me the Death Note Misa gave me….those cameras will be switched on soon. As well as those listening devices."

"But Desu…."

"Don't worry, I'll use the same trick I used to sneak out of the orphanage 5 years ago. To disappear from their radar. But now Ryuk needs to…we need a new 'active' Kira."

"You should just kill Kira now! Write his name in your Death Note and…."

"No…he'll be stripped of all his power and pride before I deliver the coup-de-grace.

His resemblance to the bastard who made my life hell curses him from just escaping into death. Besides, it'd be fun toying with him…."

-

**A/N: Some things to clear up: **

**1: Anti-Kira/Ice-chan is the child of a incestuous union between mother and son.**

**2: (I forgot my exact reason for L discovering Ice-chan is Anti-Kira so quickly, but he recognized Ice-chan as the girl from the orphanage the moment he saw her. If he's deduction seemed to fast, well he could have gotten some info from the Death-Mercy/Kira-Mercy sites…I forgot a lot of what I originally planned.)**

**3: I'm planning on finishing a few chapters of this fic before updating the next chapter, that way all I'll need to do is type and post the story. (I'm up to ch 9 so far)**


	8. Familiar

**Nameless Exception**

**Chapter 8: Familiar**

Five days later:

L swirled his tea, holding the spoon delicately as the massive amount of sugar melted into the steamy confection. He gazed absently at the white furls rising from the liquid, the Taskforce members resting, recuperating from bouts of sleepless nights watching Anti-Kira on the monitors.

Amazingly Anti-Kira didn't slip up, not a single suspicious movement did the cameras catch; and no sign of the Death Note.

'_How is she still killing? Somewhere outside the apartment…or perhaps she has someone else…'_

L bit on his thumb nail as he scratched his right foot with his left, his body sitting crouched on the roller chair. Chin resting on his knees pressed against his chest, he drunk a sip of tea and then gazed into the reflective liquid. 'Kira' had started killing again, though he knew that was impossible -- Light didn't have access to the Death Note and Misa was still out of commission.

'_Ice-chan must have given Misa's death note to someone else, or started playing Kira's role as well….not quite what I wanted, but if it convinces Light I haven't sided with her….'_

L switched on the News, the night's headline about an explosion at a pharmaceutical company that had caused injuries, but no fatalities. Unrelated to the Death Note…except a couple Death Note victims from before the hospital incident and after had visited the company. The last one just the day before the explosion.

Unsolved murder cases, unrelated as well, yet with suspects that seemly vanished prior to committing the crimes. Murders without suspects….

'_The death note can't cause a victim to kill another…not directly….yet that pharmaceutical company…and a murder case where a 12 year old just decided to push his parent off a balcony…an ex-con….'_

"If it's possible to cause someone whose name is written in the Death Note to be murdered…."

'_Yet if Ice-chan is using the death note, when is she writing in it? Or where? Outside of the apartment? Yet the taskforce are taking turns following her….sometimes even into the apartment complex….'_

L's eyes widened as he checked the monitors again, this time zooming in on Ice-chan's face -- and cursed himself silently. The resemblance was near perfect, enough to convince the taskforce and himself that it was their suspect, but on closer inspection, L noticed the small things. Literally. Ice-chan's face and neck had bore tiny white scars, too imperceptible to notice unless one knew they were there. Signs of self-abuse usually hidden by her hair and clothing.

'_I've been too focused on what Light thought and planned to pay close enough attention on Ice-chan for the past few days….I'd have noticed this person doesn't have the distant, weary look in her eyes I always sensed from Ice-chan.' _

"But when…and where….did she switch? How…." L chewed on his forefinger as he switched to the recordings from the previous days, re-watching them closely. His search not for the physical scars, since those could be covered, but for that distant gaze in Ice-chan's eyes -- the weariness he'd always seen inside those pale orbs.

0

Anti-Kira leaned back on her chair as she watched the crowds of people pass by, behind her a store's TV sets played the News about the explosion at the pharmaceutical company. The News highlighted that the person suspected had broken no prior laws, and that as a defense claimed that he was told to connect the wires as a repair job. He hadn't known doing so would trigger a bomb.

'_Of course he's innocent….but without any other _living_ suspects, and the Death Note's being unable to cause people to kill…the new Kira will probably…'_

Anti-Kira smirked as she brought her soda-can to her lips, the News switching to an update detailing the suspect's death by heart attack. Sipping her soda, Anti-Kira stood up as the Newscaster continued on the TV, and picked up a cloth bag holding a black binder. Her black hair covered by a baseball cap, and her body sporting a boy's school uniform.

"What's your plan? Why kill indirectly when you can kill whoever…." Ryuk hovered behind her as she continued down the street, wondering where she'd stay at today since letting the look-a-like stay at her apartment. "Using multiple people to set up an explosion was very interesting though….I wonder why Light never thought of it."

"Because he lacks imagination…thinking logically kills creativity. Especially when one is purpose driven, narrow-minded." Anti-Kira lowered the brim of her baseball cap over her eyes as she walked past the windows of a corner café. She side-glanced at the group of school-girls inside buying lunch, her eyes locking on one.

"Imagine how enraged the public will be when it comes out that 'Kira' caused some of the crimes he executed criminals for….how suspicious they'll be, how unsure that he didn't manipulate everything just to play God."

"But you're the one…."

"Once the suspicion is in their minds, it will never vanish….and I plan on showing how impossible Kira's ambition is….how dangerous…." Anti-Kira stood outside the café window until one of the school-girls noticed her. She jerked her head in a _'come here' _gestureafter the girl's eyes met hers and then waited. Barely five minutes passed as the girl waved goodbye to her friends and left the café, the gentle eyes scarcely glanced at Anti-Kira before following alongside her.

"So, Sayu-chan, how was your day?"

0

'_Yesterday….she switched yesterday…yet that's after 'Kira' and 'Anti-Kira' started up again, did she give Misa's Death Note to a new Kira? That's plausible….but who's killing as Anti-Kira?'_

"Ryuzaki?" Light paused as he entered the room and noticed L sitting in front of the monitors, the detective's stillness reflecting how deep in thought he was. Light hid his smirk as he approached L and sat down in the unoccupied computer chair. _'Things not going like you planned, L? Rem noticed yesterday that Anti-Kira switched out.'_

"Did you have a good rest, Light-kun? A call came in on your father's cell not too long ago….are things all right at home?" L trailed his thumb over his bottom lip, side glancing at Light while the teen focused on the monitor screen.

"Things are fine…one of Sayu's friends was at the explosion yesterday and got injured, but Sayu's fine…just shaken up according to my mother. Anyway, this case takes priority…."

"Perhaps you should take a break and visit your family, Light-kun? You haven't left here since Misa was checked into the hospital."

"It's okay, if it was anything serious my mother would tell both me and my father…it's not like Sayu was injured…."

"But if Anti-Kira is against Kira, then Light-kun's family could become targets since Light-kun is Kira." The words rolled from L's mouth as the detective reached for the teacup on the table, his ears expecting Light's denial as a related thought jolted through his brain.

"I am not Kira, Ryuzaki. Besides, the focus of the investigation has been changed to Anti-Kira…and the likelihood of harm coming to my family is low…." _'I considered that possibility already, but as none of them have been harmed yet…and with the likelihood of Anti-Kira working with you….it's really a low possibility.'_

"So Light-kun doesn't worry about his family? That would be like Kira…." L sensed Light's glare, the baiting words second nature now after such a long investigation. Though the idea headlining his thoughts focused on another possibility. _'I'm certain that Ice-chan gave Misa's death note to someone else…the chance that that person could be related to Light is not zero….'_

L paused and withdrew his hand from the teacup, his eyes holding a distant look as he thought. He bit on his thumbnail as he juggled and weighed the possibilities, first looking at the commonsense choice and then at what choice would best fit Ice-chan's personality. The skin around his eyes whitened a shade, though the paleness of his skin made it hard to notice.

Light moved his lips to retort against L's habitual jab at him being Kira, but the words died as he noticed L pale.

'_You've got to be kidding me, there's a chance…? But L wouldn't plan something underhanded like that…even more unlikely is the chance he'd side with someone who wouldn't follow his plans….it's impossible…yet this sudden change in demeanor…could it be possible that L _didn't_ meet with Anti-Kira? That's more absurd…though he genuinely seemed surprised when 'Kira' started killing again along with 'Anti-Kira.' Could that have been unexpected? Probably just the 'Kira' part, though L doesn't seem to have seen through the suspect's switcheroo…and the killings started again before the suspect switched…'_

Light focused his attention from L back to the monitors, his brown eyes searching through the images to find something he'd missed. Their suspect and the one she switched with looked so identical that it'd taken Rem to notice the difference in life-spans and warn him. Neither had seen Ryuk on any of the footage, nor had Rem seen any other Shinigami.

_-- 'It could be that neither have to be around her anymore, Demi-Shi keep their eyes and memories regardless of death note ownership since they have a direct connection with a Shinigami…or it could be that Laskla has Ryuk and himself cloaked. Though that wouldn't prevent _you _from seeing Ryuk….just other Shinigami.' Rem had confided after the second day, telling Light that she'd go after Laskla the moment she saw him.--_

Light drew himself back to the present, sitting back in his chair as the brown strands of his hair covered his eyes.

'_Either L's plan is backfiring, or there's no plan…Anti-Kira could be a loose cannon, but L wouldn't side with someone like that….yet…yet….'_

L sensed Light's silence, the absence of the expected retort nagging him as his thought trail produced a theory and a percentage he disliked.

'_Ice-chan doesn't think like most people, her logic is different….if someone like Light or myself decided to give someone else the death note to throw suspicion off of our selves, it wouldn't be to someone already connected in someway to us. But Ice-chan….might consider it.' _L brought his teacup to his lip and sipped some of the syrupy-sweet liquid. _'Actually, it could be a very smart move at this point…as the probability of Light or I suspecting it is low, under most circumstances…but I know that no possibility is off the table with Ice-chan….'_

"Ryuzaki! On the monitor! The suspect…!" Light leaned forward in his chair, sitting on the edge as the female on the screen -- the substitute of their suspect -- grabbed her chest and fell to the floor

0

"What do you want now?" Sayu shivered as Anti-Kira placed an arm around her shoulders and they strolled down the sidewalk. Sayu struggled to keep the fear from rising to her face, her eyes unable to meet the person walking alongside her. She felt nauseous.

"You already know what…and you've done a splendid job the pass two days." Anti-Kira whispered in Sayu's ear, and held out a cloth shopping bag for the school-girl with her free hand. "It's to protect your family….your brother…."

"I know…." Sayu trembled as she took the bag from Anti-Kira, her eyes watering at the sheets of paper peeking out from within a black binder.

"I set up a private email for us. I included it in this bag along with the other information you need."

"…please…I can't…." Sayu's voice barely carried beyond her lips, though Anti-Kira caught the plead and pain in the whisper.

"You must." Anti-Kira felt Sayu shudder under her harsh tone, and saw the glossy tears threatening to drop from those gentle eyes. She pursed her lips and glanced at a overhead streetlamp; their walk had brought them closer to Sayu's school, the lunch period ticking by with neither having eaten.

Anti-Kira led Sayu to a bench a short walk from the school, her eyes glazed in thought, burned as she fiddled with what she could say. Her pale eyes glanced at the bag in Sayu's hands, then to the younger girl's face; her eyes roaming over those soft features. With a sigh, Anti-Kira dropped her arm from Sayu's shoulders. "Look I'm only the messenger…."

"…please, I don't want any part in this…."

"I didn't plan to say this, but….your brother Light Yagami, is a _suspect_ in the Kira investigation…."

Sayu felt her chest grow cold, her features frozen as the words reached her eardrums and then her brain. She trembled, clenching the bag's handle tighter as she shook her head.

"Lies…."

"Then prove it…lure the real Kira out, prove your brother's innocence…."

"If I tell…."

"That'll just further endanger your brother, your entire family….you know Kira's killing method now…." Anti-Kira nodded her head to the bag holding sheets from the death note. "So unless you think there's a chance your brother is guilty…."

"No! My brother follows the law, agrees with it….he would never…."

"Then you must infiltrate 'Kira's' inner circle, find who's really behind this…and to do that you must do as I say."

Sayu merely nodded in ascension, face still pasty though her eyes burned with determination.

0

Ryuk hovered silently above as Anti-Kira left Sayu's side, unseen by the schoolgirl since Anti-Kira had given sheets from the death note she'd received from Laskla. He sniggered as he followed Anti-Kira, glancing back to watch Sayu heading toward her school.

"Light is sure going to flip when he finds out you've manipulated his sister….giving her pages of death note to write down names on….why not give her the death note?"

"Then I'll be without one. Laskla has already given his to the other puppet in this game. Besides, those two dubious rules that L asked me about….I neither confirmed nor denied them. Laskla told me the rules directly, so my death note doesn't have them written down."

"If you want L to win, then why hide information from him? Your words can end Light's plans…."

"Words alone can't, there needs to be physical proof tying Light to the death note…and besides, L would never let the case go unless he finds proof. And a witness account of a murderer against a murderer will never stand in court. Mercy killing _is _illegal."

"Ah…things are getting real interesting again…by the way, when can I get my five apples today? It's after noon, and besides you've escaped their surveillance since yesterday…."

"Only until the death note takes effect and kills my replacement, though L most likely discovered the switch already. However, depending on whether or not he mentioned meeting me before, he might not reveal the switch himself."

"Light probably will find out from Rem though that…." Ryuk rambled on until he saw Anti-Kira halt, her pale eyes locked on his. _'Uh…oh, I forgot to mention Rem before…'_

"Rem?" Anti-Kira tilted her head and watched Ryuk for a moment before resuming her stroll. A thin smile twitched on her lips. "That must be the Shinigami whose death note the taskforce has now. Since there were two Kira's before I showed up, there had to be two Shinigami…."

'_Um…Rem is the other Shinigami's name….Kira's…no, Ryuk's words have pretty much revealed that his human was originally Light, otherwise his conversation would be centered around Misa…so Rem…is…was Misa's Shinigami? But why switch Shinigami?'_

"That's right…." Ryuk chuckled when Anti-Kira's showed no signs of anger, and continued floating behind her. _'Man…I thought she'd say 'no apples' because I failed to tell her about Rem before….'_

"Um, I guess we can get you your apples now…I'm hungry myself."


	9. Dusk

**Nameless Exception**

**Chapter 9: Dusk**

The teen school girl brushed her hair loose from the hair-tie, each stroke slow and meticulous. Almost painfully so. Her cheeks hidden by the locks wet and glistening in the slivers of light from her window; her eyes shining from the tears still waiting to be shed. On her desk the sheets she'd received lay deliberately spread out, one sheet already filled with names.

She worried her bottom lip before her final stroke through her hair, then set down the brush in her top desk drawer. Her class had a test coming up, but her eyes blurred just looking at the textbooks. Downstairs she heard her mother bustling around, cooking dinner, doing laundry -- the everyday things that seemed worthless now.

She felt nauseous. Her stomach gurgling and doing flip-flops, she leaned back in her chair, eyes studying a corner of her ceiling. The emptiness was excruciating. Her noiseless room, the still curtains pulled tightly shut at her window -- it was all so far away.

"Why…what have I done…." Sayu hugged herself, searching for comfort but her body remained cold, her insides numb. Steadily she inhaled and exhaled, freezing the tears in her eyes with icy resolve -- the words from earlier came rushing back.

'"_Your brother Light Yagami, is a _suspect_ in the Kira case."'_

"Lies. He can't. He wouldn't." She clenched her teeth and glared at the sheets arrayed over the surface of her desk. Five sheets, five days worth. The first already filled. Fighting an inner tremor, she picked out the instruction sheet the person in the schoolboy uniform had given her. The email account address and password written out at the top, followed by a web address. Beneath it a bulleted list of instructions glared in typed black ink.

* Fill one sheet with names per day.

* Burn each filled sheet completely after done.

* Vary the times of death to be carried out the next day

* Do not mention anything about the sheets or writing down names.

* Do not allow anyone else to touch the sheets.

* Use only the names and photos provided by the email account.

* Under no circumstances write your own, or those close to you, name on the sheets.

Sayu picked up the sheet filled with names as she placed the new instruction sheet in her bottom drawer. On top of the first sheet she'd received in the mail two days ago. That sheet held the 'how to use' instructions of the sheets of paper -- sheets from something called the death note.

"I wish it was fake. I wish Light or dad would come home…." She tore the sheet in her hand to tiny bits, trying to block out the myriad of names scribbled on them from her thoughts. Once her mom went to sleep she'd toss them in the fireplace and watch the evidence burn to ash.

0

Rem stared down at Misa's sleeping form, she felt the pull from the death note at headquarters, but she ignored it. Instead she watched the blonde that seemed much more delicate, much more gentle than before.

"I swear I'll kill this Anti-Kira, and make Laskla regret ever making a demi-shi. Misa…."

The Shinigami knelt by the bed, gazing at the sleeping face -- a face that seemed peaceful despite the amnesia. She reached one of her claws to touch Misa's cheek, but paused when she heard the door click shut. Silence descended on the room, broken only by the clock and the solid beep from the heart monitor.

"Shi…Shi…." Matsuda swallowed as Rem turned toward him, the shock displayed on his face. He'd come to check up on the model-pop star, the only taskforce member to think it worth it until Misa's memory returned. Since L put the Kira II investigation on hold to focus on investigating Anti-Kira, no one thought anything worthwhile could come from checking on Misa. Matsuda suddenly had the feeling he proved them wrong.

He'd heard Rem's vow. The angry tone…the familiar address of Misa's name, and the name of what he'd assumed was another Shinigami. He couldn't hear anything more except the blood rushing in his ears, his heartbeat jumping.

"What are you doing here, Shinigami-san?" Matsuda tried to smile, willing himself to play the bumbling fool -- somehow he'd stumbled on something dangerous, something he should've have, and he shivered. The words 'I'm dead' on endless repeat in his thoughts as he felt Rem's glare. "I came here to read to Misa-chan, but looks like she's asleep…."

"…." Rem spread her wings and flew from the hospital building, ignoring the weakest threat against Misa as she returned to headquarters. _'Just Matsuda, he'd probably didn't overhear anything…anyway, if he died now it'd be Misa who'd be in danger….'_

After Rem flew away, Matsuda counted to 40 before breathing in a relaxing gulp of air. The expression on his face fearful and relieved, just as confusion furrowed his brows. What did Rem's visit to Misa mean? He sank into the chair beside the bed before his knees gave out.

0

Laskla sat on a wooden floor while he watched the black haired college student writing names in the death note. The wildness in the man's eyes, their sharp glint and the repetition of 'delete' with each name written brought forth nostalgia in the Shinigami. He smirked, watching the new 'Kira' as he recalled Anti-Kira's plan.

-

' "_We must provide doubt to the taskforce as to my involvement, therefore a new Kira and Anti-Kira must be created. Laskla, take the death note you gave me and give it to someone to kill as Kira. I'll find someone to kill as Anti-Kira." Anti-Kira tore a handful of sheets from the death note before handing it to Laskla, her pale eyes telling him to hurry away. "Ryuk, once the cameras are switched on, you must stay out of their range…there's a crawl space above the ceiling, stay there while I'm in the apartment."_

"_That doesn't sound like fun…."_

"_I'll reward you with apples…five each day…ten per day you have to stay in that crawl space….if it's a deal, go there now."_

"_All right! Apples!" Ryuk hurried through the ceiling, and Laskla glanced once more at Anti-Kira before phasing through the apartment wall, and into the chilly air.'_

-

"Shinigami, you seem to be in deep thought." The dark haired law student lay his pen down and closed the death note. The intense eyes focused on Laskla while the Shinigami flexed his wings and rose to standing.

"You remind me of a human I knew…a long, long time ago. 1000 years in fact…." Laskla folded back his wings, drinking in the student's black hair and intense gaze with appraising red eyes. The lifespan above the human's head burned into his vision.

"Oh? Is that why you chose me to receive the death note? To cleanse the world for Kira….do god's bidding…." The intense eyes grew wild, a twist of pride and devotion. The eyes of a worshipper and fanatic.

"…." Laskla smirked as he watched Mikami return to the death note, his eyes straying to the sky, darkened by gray clouds. _'You remind me of him, but _he_ would not do anyone's bidding….'_

0

"Ryuk." Anti-Kira reclined on the hotel room bed, listening to ambulance sirens fading in the distance. Her heart pounded as she pictured the direction it headed towards, closer to her neighborhood. "Why was Laskla exiled? He never said…."

"Oh, he led a rebellion that nearly destroyed the Shinigami world. Those were interesting times…." Ryuk picked up a second apple from the bowl on the table while he finished chewing and swallowing the first one. "These apples are more delicious than the ones Light gave me…."

"Those are top quality…since you did what I asked so well I thought you deserved them." She pillowed her head with her arms as she gazed at the ceiling, her pale eyes closed as Ryuk's words sunk into her brain. "If his rebellion caused that much damage, why didn't the Shinigami King just kill him? Laskla mentioned that there are ways to kill a Shinigami…."

"Who knows? I've never found a Shinigami who knew why and would talk…." Ryuk paused and glanced from the apples to Anti-Kira's shadowed face. "That's the truth, so…can I have more of these same apples tomorrow? I'll tell you some of the rumors I heard from other Shinigami about Laskla…."

"You're such an addict, Ryuk-kun." Anti-Kira sat up on the bed, back against the headboard, face toward the Shinigami. Ryuk finished his fourth apple while she studied him. "There's just one more thing….why did Laskla rebel in the first place?"

"Ha! Every Shinigami knows that. The Shinigami King killed the human Laskla loved. Wrote his name in the death note." Ryuk polished off his fifth apple and licked his claws before turning toward Anti-Kira. He laughed as he recalled the threat Laskla made against the Shinigami King, the vow to make the King suffer and regret.

Anti-Kira tilted her head, index finger at her lips as her eyes narrowed.

"That just leaves new questions to be answered…and I've had enough thinking for one day."

0

L chewed on the tines of the fork at his lips, the taskforce behind him debating theories of how Anti-Kira escaped - or as Light spitefully brought up, how L could've been mistaken on Anti-Kira's identity. The detective bristled at his suspect's words, his insides rumbling though he remained stoic.

"Someone should call Matsuda back, he mentioned something about visiting Amane." Aizawa brought up as he noticed the young officer's absence, his words cutting through the heating debate.

"Leave it to him to do something useless at such a time. We need to start from scratch looking for Anti-Kira, and Kira as well since it's clear Misa's no longer Kira, if she ever was." Mogi searched the others faces before briefly watching L. The detective sat crouched on his chair, back facing the Taskforce, his pale fingers holding the fork nimbly.

"Ryuzaki, it seems you were wrong in your deductions. That woman obviously wasn't Anti-Kira but just a pawn. We've wasted five days surveillance when we could've been out tracking Anti-Kira down." Light crossed his arms, his brown eyes reflecting a shade of fake annoyance and a tinge of laughter. The room grew silent as L continued to stare at the monitor, the only sound the click of his teeth biting on the fork.

Heavy silence drowned the taskforce, and the room began to fill with the soft coughs of irritation. L remained still, ignoring the noises as he reached at an idea, the thread tangled in his thoughts. It slowly began to unravel into a plan.

"Ryuzaki-san! You can't just ignore us! We need to restart investigating Anti-Kira! Start from scratch." Souichiro approached the mum detective first, slamming his fist on the table when L delayed responding. "Ryuzaki!"

The detective wordlessly removed the fork from his mouth and placed it on the plate, the strawberry cake still half-uneaten. Next he lowered his head so his hair covered his eyes and turned half toward the Taskforce as he spoke:

"I apologize everyone. This case . . . I must drop out of the investigation."

**A/N: End Chapter, please review. Cliffhanger, I know (I'm evil like that), but L dropping out of the investigation . . . I can't believe what direction my muse is going toward.**


	10. Empty Fort

**Nameless Exception**

**Chapter 10: Empty Fort**

"I apologize everyone. This case . . . I must drop out of the investigation." L's words echoed in the silence, the hallmark for the pin-drop cliché. His dark eyes skimmed each of the officers' faces, drinking in their astonished countenances - the widened eyes, slightly parted lips. He counted to thirty before anyone moved, and he allowed his eyes to finally glance at Light, before shifting them 2 seconds later back to the officers.

"Ryuzaki….what…? Why….what…?"

"This…Ryuzaki-san….What do you mean drop out of the investigation?"

"Ryuzaki…." Light studied L closely, his mind yelling that this was some trick, some part of a plan to prove he was Kira. Those rich brown eyes of his struggled to meet L's dark ones, to try to read some thought or idea in the detective's black hole eyes. Yet that 2 second glance seemed to be all L was willing to provide him, too short to draw any conclusion from them. _'L…is avoiding studying me….is he afraid it will backfire and I'll call his bluff? There's no way he'll leave the investigation….why would he…unless it's to cause me to trip up by feeling too safe….' _

"Yagami-san, it will be up to you to lead the investigation from now on. You may continue using this building as headquarters, and all the information connected to the investigation so far is yours to use." L stood up and began walking pass the officers, his words still keeping most of them dumbstruck, the near inaudible sounds of his footsteps the only thing marring the silence. He counted the seconds, lip twitching at the corner as he approached the door off-limits to the Task Force - his gait calculated to allow the others time to protest.

"Ryuzaki, stop joking, there's no way you'll leave the investigation." Light crossed his arms over his chest, brown eyes locked on L's back - glaring at the pristine white shirt like an artist envisioning an artwork on a blank canvas. The detective paused as Light's words reached across the room, allowing the officers' shocked faces a hint of relief. "You're so close to solving things that to drop out now would be a waste."

"Ah, am I that close? I missed the switch out of Anti-Kira with the decoy, I failed to find evidence to apprehend Kira, and the suspect for Kira II that I found evidence to implicate is unable to be charged at this time." L tilted his head, the gesture allowing him to glimpse Light as well as conveying an expression of self-disappointment. His coal eyes drunk in his suspect's suspicious glare as well as self-satisfied as. "It seems I haven't been leading the investigation well enough lately."

"…eh? You're depressed again, Ryuzaki? Is that what brought this on?"

"Ryuzaki-san, you've been essential to this investigation…."

"Um…but it was Light-kun that discovered the connection between the Yotsuba group and Kira." L kept his head tilted, eyes darting forward to the wall and door ahead of him; hands in his pockets, his body hunched forward as per normal. "My stubbornness kept me from investigating thoroughly as I should've….Light is Kira, perhaps I should reevaluate that, but…I'm a sore loser. Um…."

Light blinked and dropped his crossed arms, the unexpected words bouncing around in his head, along with disbelief - L admitting he should reconsider his suspicion of Light being Kira? Impossible. A trap or a trick - either way L was playing a game with Light, trying to manipulate things to gain the advantage.

"Ryuzaki-san, are you saying that…."

"But I personally can't accept the idea that Light is not Kira. It seems my stubbornness will only hinder any progress if Light is not Kira…if I stay in charge of the investigation there's a chance Kira may remain uncaught."

'_Haa? You know that's not true, we both know that…' _Light's widened eyes narrowed, lips pursed before he closed his eyes and exhaled. _'That's what you're doing, manipulating the Task Force so that they'll investigate other avenues, leaving you free to continue your own investigation. An investigation I won't be able to track…too bad it'll be only a temporary setback, L, once Anti-Kira is caught and you reinvestigate Misa, Rem will kill you.'_

"Ryuzaki, are you saying it will be best if the Task Force investigates other avenues to find out Kira and Anti-Kira's identities?" Light questioned, arms back across his chest, head tilted away though his eyes remained on the detective.

"You are correct, Light-kun. You and the Task Force investigating should increase the chance of success." L resumed walking toward the off-limits door, lips budging only to speak though his eyes glinted. He turned toward the Task Force briefly before he pressed the button to open the door. "If there is any reason to contact me, you may reach me through the contact number on the monitor screen. It is untraceable and will reach me directly."

While the Task Force turned to the monitor, reading the number, L passed through the door and sealed it shut with a special code.

0

Anti-Kira sat on the open window's sill, left leg stretched out along it's length, right one bent towards the floor. She exhaled, the sound of Ryuk munching on apples and laughing at the TV down the hall audible with her acute hearing. Her pale fingers slipped into her pocket, touching the smooth plastic of a cell phone as her lips curved, hair obscuring her eyes.

_-- "Carry this with you at all times, you may inspect it, but it doesn't have any tracking devices on it. It does have a listening device activated by incoming calls that is deactivated by ending the call." L held out the cell phone, secured daintly in his grip between forefinger and thumb. His eyes barely strayed from her face, though they observed every centimeter of their surroundings, and he approached her swiftly after she took the phone. His lips right next to her ear, he whispered his next words._

_Anti-Kira's pale eyes glistened, her heartbeat increasing as each word reverberated on her eardrums she brought the cell to her lips to hide her smile, backing away from L as she felt Laskla hovering closer - she glared in his direction, pocketing the cell._

"_Following your plan…seems risky. Of course I must act on my own for some parts…the choices I have…."_

"_You have no choice, Ice-chan, if you refuse my plan, I must bring you into custody."_

"_A lousy choice, but a choice still…even between life and death, there is always a choice…I'll follow your plan to spy on Kira, but I must add my own mark per se, you'll agree if it seems too much like you planned it, Kira will know."_

"_That is true…Ice-chan, I'm amazed the progress you made in speech in five years, children like you usually don't grasp language fully…." L rubbed his bottom lip as he studied Anti-Kira clearly, his eyes and mind rebelling against each other. This female looked like Ice-chan, had the same mannerisms, but the wealth of her communication was only 5% possible. His eyes widened slightly as he noted Anti-Kira's smirk and brief head jerk towards where he guessed the Shinigami was. "Ah. Just that gifted, perhaps." --_

Anti-Kira glanced up at the moonlit sky, pale eyes reflecting the silver of the giant orb in the black shroud sky. The cool air brushing against her face, neck, and hands chilled her. The sensation comfortable as she breathed in the fresh oxygen. Her lips parted, her back pressed fully against the inner window frame, she listened to the resting city outside and the Shinigami rummaging in the other room.

"I never learned a human language until 13, but the Shinigami language…I mastered when I was around 4.…thanks to Laskla."

0

"Watari, it is as I suspected…the Shinigami has a connection to Misa…." L stood, slouched forward and eyes glued to the monitor screen, hands in his pockets as he half-smiled. Installing a hidden camera in Misa' hospital room had paid off, 5 times since her hospitalization had Rem visited the model/pop idol while him or Watari monitored the room. _'Too bad the tape doesn't seem to be able to record the Shinigami…we can watch through the live-feed, but not if we watch the playback of the video….though….it might be a good thing I can't show such a recording to Light….'_

L removed his right hand from his pocket and brought the thumb to his lips, mind filling in the unknowns and mysteries left in his detection. His first suspicion of Rem having a connection to Misa struck him when he'd studied the Shinigami's reaction to seeing Misa in the hospital, he'd sensed anger and…pain from the Shinigami that day. Though his fear of Kira and then excitement over finding Anti-Kira quickly overrode his suspicion until he had thought carefully later.

'_There had to be a connection between the Shinigami and Misa, so I had a hidden camera set up. But what I and Watari have seen since…this connection seems based more on feeling from the Shinigami….if that's the case….putting Misa in danger might have been Light's plan all along, and if it was…if the Shinigami cared enough, then it would kill those who threatened Misa….'_

"I see….That was Light's plan. And it also explains why he didn't just get rid of Misa….he must've been threatened…." L mused, full smile on his lips now that he knew something Light didn't want him to know. He could envision Light being brought to justice more clearly now than before, he had the threads to ensnare Kira in his hands - and knew what mistakes not to make. Light must not find out how much he knew, thus the camera in Misa' hospital room must be dismantled, and he must investigate outside of the taskforce.

"L, Matsuda-san witnessed the Shinigami visiting Misa's hospital room this time and he spoke to the Shinigami, that means we have proof to show the Taskforce that…." Watari trailed off as he noticed L shake his head, the detective then pausing to think clearer.

"If we reveal what we found out, we'll be dead and Kira will win. Kira wants me to suspect Misa so that the Shinigami will kill me to save her. The Shinigami may also kill you for the same reason." L leaned forward and picked a sugar cube on the tray beside Watari's teacup, his tongue savoring the sweetness as his eyes glinted like a smile. "I must speak with the Shinigami directly. If I get her on my side, I will have the upper hand against Kira. That will be something Light will not suspect."

"How will you get the Shinigami on your side? If it cares for Misa . . . then . . . "

"I will grant Misa amnesty, as her capture will simply hinder my capturing Light, not to mention she cannot be convicted as she is. That . . . " L paused as he caught the movement of something behind them reflected on the dark parts of the screen. He glanced back, coal eyes drinking in the appearance of Rem, calculating how much she'd overheard by the surprise in her eyes.

"Shinigami!" Watari paled, his eyes darting from the supernatural creature back to L - his paleness lessening as he noticed L's slightly upturned lips.

0

Matsuda hurried down the sidewalk, his pulse racing as the screen of his cell phone flashed signifying a message from the Task Force. The message only held two words - hurry back.

"What happened? Damn it, why did I have to be the one not at headquarters when something happened? Maybe a new lead, I hope it's not someone's death…damn…I…." Matsuda shuddered as he remembered the Shinigami's glare, the words he'd overheard that seemed to imply a connection to Misa. "I'm just glad I'm alive, please don't let it be any bad news…."

The sky filled with heavy gray clouds, the temperature dropping while the air echoed with far off thunder. He lifted his eyes and sighed just as lightning flashed above - it illuminated the road and the buildings ahead. The blinding light zapped his vision, made it difficult to see once it passed and ushered more darkness in. Yet he saw a shadow on the nearby overpass - it chilled him as another lightning flash filled his vision.

"What…." He watched the figure step on the guardrail, climbing on and over it while his skin chilled. He ignored his now ringing phone and rushed to the suicide attempter, face pale, heart racing as he prayed for the rain to hold off just a few more minutes. He recognized the figure holding on the guardrail, preparing her hands to let go.

"Sa…Sayu!"

**A/N: God! Another cliff hanger, and it's quite….evil, I guess. I wonder what will happen when Light and Souichiro find out….I don't think this entered into Anti-Kira's calculations…if she even calculated any part of her plans. **


	11. Haze

**Nameless Exception**

**Chapter 11: Haze**

Beep. Beep. Beep. The monotonous sound dragged on, footsteps, people talking - everything blurred into a continuous din, synthesized into pain. It dimmed, then rose, then dimmed again after someone hovered above her. Sayu opened her eyes, the lights above her head mesmerizing - they hurt her eyes yet she felt numb.

"Sayu!" The sharp sound of a chair knocked over, along with the sound of another one being dragged closer cut through her ears before she comprehended the exclamation. She blinked twice prying her eyes off of the sharp lights and onto the people beside her bed.

"Sayu, thank god you're awake."

"Father?" Her voice low, her eyes questioned his presence there, her memory for the moment placing her back at home. The sharp beeps of the machines registered to her consciousness slowly, along with the dimmed down pain of her left arm and right ankle. "The hospital…what…."

"Sayu…." Light stood stoic two feet from the foot of Sayu's hospital bed, his face pale and his palms sweaty. Placed by his feet on the floor, his sister's bag intruded on his carefully planned thoughts, wearing at his concentration - 3 hours after his sister's admittance into the hospital and he was the only one to peek into the bag.

He swallowed, his chest burning as his insides shook - inside the bag rested a binder with sheets of paper inscribed with names. 'Death note sheets' his mind shouted before he truly comprehended what he'd seen - he wished to say 'impossible,' but the names and times written were the same as those who had died lately.

For the first time in his life his mind was slow to grasp the meaning of something.

Why did Sayu have sheets from a death note? Why did she jump from that overpass? Why were the names in Sayu's handwriting….

Sayu's handwriting….Light's stomach knotted, acid bubbling as understanding exploded from a simmer into a boil. Sayu had been writing names on sheets of death note paper, she had been given sheets of death note paper….and she'd tried to commit suicide.

'_Anti-Kira, you're dead the moment I find you. Using my sister….using Sayu….I could understand taking her hostage or even killing her as an attack on me….but using her to….'_

Sayu's sharp cry, accompanied by heavy sobs after robbed Light of his thought process and pulled his attention to his sister. His chest chilled when he noticed her give the bag beside his feet a frightened glance, her pale face and tears speaking more than words.

Guilt. Pain. Fear. Light read the emotions, his heart pounding faster and faster - suddenly flashbacks of the time he'd proved without doubt that the death note was authentic illuminated his consciousness. That singular time when he'd felt guilt and horror for what he'd done came crashing into his thoughts. He felt sick. Felt nauseous like that time as he watched the same expressions occur on his sister's face.

Only, they didn't vanish from his sister's face.

'_Do I have a conscience?' _Light's eyelid's lowered halfway down his eyes, softening his expression, as he watched the tears on his sister's face. _'What? Wait, why am I thinking about this? Of course I have a conscience! I wouldn't be worthy to pass judgment if I didn't know right from wrong!'_

'_But, is that all a conscience is? Knowing right from wrong? Knowing something will hurt will not stop someone from attaining it if it brings pleasure with it.'_

Light swallowed and pursed his lips, his hair shadowing his eyes as he locked the thought away, his arms folded across his chest. He focused on Sayu's mumbled words - apologies and pleads to get rid of the bag. Her whispers revealing enough to cause their father to pale and glance at the bag.

Souichiro locked eyes with his son, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest as Light nodded. The question asked and answered.

'Are there death note sheets in that bag?'

'Yes, there are.'

Beaded sweat on his forehead, Souichiro struggled to remain composed as he reassured his daughter that he loved her and that she just had to rest; as she closed her eyes he motioned Light to go out into the hall with him and to take the bag. Outside Souichiro sighed and clenched his fist, righting himself a second later before his son could ask if he was all right.

"Let's check on Matsuda."

Light nodded at his father's suggestion, hand gripping the handle of Sayu's bag firmly - something within rebelled against delving anymore on his sister having a connection to the death note, though his intelligence screamed that he had to investigate. Its urgency pressed upon him, causing his chest to feel heavy, yet he followed his father wordlessly towards Matsuda's hospital room.

Through the door he stepped and scanned the faces of the Taskforce officers standing and sitting around Matsuda's bed. The young officer remained unconscious, body heavily bandaged and sedated with numerous machines hooked up to it. Light stepped toward the corner, clenching his sister's bag until his knuckles turned white as his father dealt with the other officer's inquiries.

"It seems too incredible that this would happen in the middle of the Kira and Anti-Kira investigation….more so that Matsuda would just happen to be there to…." Aizawa fell silent, eyes scanning the unconscious Matsuda as fear filled his insides. "If Matsuda hadn't been there…."

Light swallowed, the police and paramedics words in regards to the incident echoing in his ears. The heavy rain had caused both Matsuda and Sayu to slip over the overpass's rail when the former tried to stop the latter from jumping. It ended up a miracle of probability that Matsuda landed first, and that Sayu landed on top of him - resulting in Sayu's injuries being less severe.

'_Miracle…was it a miracle or did Anti-Kira…?' _Light glanced at Matsuda and then at the bag he held, his eyes widened at the paleness of his knuckles - he barely realized he'd gripped the bag so tightly. _'I've never tried it, but technically the rules don't forbid controlling someone's actions to protect another….wait, what am I thinking? Why would Anti-Kira protect Sayu's life if Anti-Kira believes I'm Kira? It's pure chance….a miracle of probability….'_

'_Though there is a new Kira out there…perhaps he….but that would mean he knows who I….'_

"We should call L and inform him of everything that's happened. It might stop his idea of investigating separately." Aizawa's words broke through Light's thought train, necessitating him to paying closer attention to the group conversation. "Who remembers the number L left? Things happened so quickly that I don't."

"I do." Light spoke after a brief embarrassed silence welcomed Aizawa's words. The call informing them about Sayu came not long after L left the investigation to them, while they were in the midst of contemplating how to investigate without the detective. _'I'm certain L knows something happened to Sayu and Matsuda already, he has all calls monitored at headquarters…but it won't hurt to call and yell at him…I'm still sure he knows Anti-Kira's identity even if he didn't talk to her….'_

Light exited the hospital room, Sayu's bag still in his hand, and headed toward the green hospital phone down the hallway.

0

Watari swallowed, umbrella held over his head to protect it from the light drizzle that fell upon the city. Police tape and a patrol car still marked the spot on the overpass where Sayu had jumped and Matsuda had fallen trying to stop her. He surveyed the streets and surroundings while he waited for L to complete his primary search of the buildings overlooking the scene.

'_L…if Ice-chan had a hand in this, if Sayu attempted…because Ice-chan….' _Watari's facial expression grew impassive as he thought, his breath calm even as his worry for the detective swam inside him.

Throughout the genius orphan's career as a detective situations arose that caused L to be perceived with distrust among many people - due solely to other's envy and L's eccentricity. Generally L's detective genius outweighed most misgivings and jealousies when necessity arose for such genius - not that L would stop working on a case he found interesting just because those in authority positions refused to cooperate.

But throughout L's career, the detective never formed an alliance with a criminal that led to an innocent's death - or near death in Sayu's case. L's innate ability to calculate a person's trustworthiness guaranteed the detective seldom chose a false ally.

If Ice-chan had any connection to Sayu jumping from the overpass, and the Yagami's learned L could've captured Ice-chan beforehand….Watari struggled not to imagine the damage that would do to L's detective career. Instead he sighed, glancing at the current building L was investigating. The detective chewed at his thumb and glanced upwards, dark eyes drinking in the expanse of windows of the skyscraper. A soft 'ah' sound from L's lips spoke to Watari that the detective found something - the old man approached the younger a second later.

"Ryuzaki…."

"This building is the only one with windows that offer a clear view of the overpass. If Anti-Kira had a direct hand in this…or perhaps if the new Kira had a hand in this, this building would be their lookout point."

"Ryuzaki? If this had something to do with either, they wouldn't need to be nearby…just have to use the death note…."

"No…." L rubbed his thumb over his lip, eyes glued to the skyscraper. "It appears more than certain that if Anti-Kira or the new Kira had a hand in this, neither wrote Sayu's name in a death note. She would not have escaped with such light injuries if they had. It may be chance, but….there was an anonymous call shortly beforehand reporting the incident. That I find peculiar."

"But if Sayu's name wasn't written…if it wasn't to harm her then what…." Watari blinked a few times, holding tightly to the umbrella shaft as a gust of wind passed. His mind catching onto one possibility. "This…this wasn't to protect Sayu?"

"If Anti-Kira or the new Kira had a hand in this, then I'd have to say it was to protect Sayu. Which means Sayu's suicide attempt was her choice as well as that the one who protected her is more likely to be the new Kira than Anti-Kira." L placed his hands in his pockets, back hunched over, and walked toward the automobile Watari had driven to this place. "It also means the taskforce will be short an officer soon…."

0

"Shinigami, are you sure that girl is related to Kira?" Mikami asked Laskla as he stepped out of his apartment. His voice low as he passed by the neighboring apartment doors and stepped into the elevator - once inside he kept his lips shut and carefully watched those who'd already were in the elevator. Laskla floated beside him.

"Yes. She is his sister." Laskla watched as the floor numbers decreased, not saying anything more while other humans were in the elevator. Instead he drifted into his thoughts, trying to fathom Anti-Kira's plan from the rest of her instructions to him.

-

'"_Keep an eye out for Kira's sister Sayu Yagami, make sure no harm comes to her - I plan to use her to….well, make sure she isn't harmed while remaining unseen by her. If need be, tell the new Kira about her connection to the first Kira…."'_

-

'_I wonder what Desu did to get Kira's sister to try committing suicide…could it have been giving her those death note sheets? That….how will that get Desu closer to spying on Kira?' _Laskla scratched behind his ears, eyes locked on the illuminated elevator floor number - currently on the 5th floor. _'She should just write Kira's name in the death note, solve everything easily…though….'_

He thought a moment as the elevator beeped and the door slid open, allowing 3 more people to enter and 2 others to leave. Beside him Mikami opened up a book on law and opened to his bookmarked page. Discreetly he glanced down at his human, his concentration elsewhere even as he disinterestedly read the page Mikami was reading.

'_Light Yagami - Kira, has the same death year as that detective….6 years from now….' _He brushed by that thought as he concentrated on the lifespan he'd seen over the brunette's head at the hospital. The elevator door beeped and opened again, this time on the 2nd floor and Mikami bookmarked his new page and placed the miniature book into his suit pocket. The Shinigami silenced his thoughts as Mikami exited the elevator, the move unexpected though he followed the human without protest.

The floor led to a relatively empty corridor, which housed the room Mikami rented for extra storage and work space - over the passed few days using it as the room in which to use the death note. Laskla tilted his head as the black haired human headed toward the room - today wasn't planned as a killing day.

"Shinigami, why did you not tell me earlier that you knew Kira's identity?" Mikami rounded on Laskla the moment the door to his storage room closed. His eyes gleamed maddeningly at the Shinigami, unafraid and angry. "It'd help to directly talk to him, to know his exact plans, would it not?"

"Haa…." Laskla's eyes widened a sliver before he improvised an answer. "Kira is in trouble of being found out, and thus anyone who contacts him will also be viewed as suspicious. To protect Kira's identity and plans, it's best just to follow the current plan of killing as Kira would."

"Um…that sounds viable….but why have you been spying on his sister, dragging me with you, when it's best to stay away?"

"…Many Shinigami like watching humans, some have favorites…." Laskla replied, his thoughts reflecting a brief regret of choosing this human as a proxy Kira.

"Oh? Is she your favorite? I thought for a moment the human you said I remind you of was your favorite…but I guess he'd be dead if he lived a 1000 years ago…."

Laskla thought a moment, hovering in the air as he gazed at the desk in the midst of boxes and file cabinets; his eyes gleaming as memories of the past flashed before him. Those centuries he'd spent in exile, after the Shinigami King killed the human he cared the most for - he'd spent biding his time until the day he'd get his deepest wish. If everything in his plan went correctly, he'd achieve his goal in six more years - but if things went wrong….

"This is something I haven't spoke a word about for a 1000 years, something even the King of the Shinigami doesn't know." The Shinigami stopped hovering and folded in his wings, the feel of standing on his legs preferable after living so long exiled in the human world. "The human you remind me of…the one that was my favorite…was reincarnated and is alive today. And I know the year of his death is 6 years from now."

"Oh?" Mikami studied the Shinigami, the eyes behind his glasses slightly narrowed in disinterest. Learning about Shinigami's feelings for humans wasn't on his top list of interests, but he listened in case the Shinigami gave significant information that could help the god Kira. "Is this relevant to Kira? Otherwise there is no point…."

"Well, heh, heh, I do not know exactly how he looks like in this life, but….Kira - Light Yagami - is one of the candidates as his death year is 6 years from now."

Mikami's eyes widened as the Shinigami grinned. The human's face illuminated with wonder and bewilderment.

0

Anti-Kira's pale, blue eyes shot open as the sound of the ringing cell phone breached her ears; the sky outside lighter now that the storm had passed, the air cooled by a lingering drizzle. She felt cold liquid on her cheeks and wiped it with her sleeve - her back pressed against the frame of the open window filled with soreness as she moved. Her ears picked up the phone's ringing while she realized half of her body was drenched - sometime during the storm she'd fallen asleep propped against the frame of the window.

"…." She stood slowly, eyes glancing around the apartment. It took a split second longer to realized it was the cell phone in her pocket that rang so persistently. L's words from when he handed her the cell phone reverberated through her thoughts and she fished the contraption from her pocket.

Nimbly she flipped open the cell-phone and pressed it against her ear, her lips forming the greeting as Ryuk entered the room. The Shinigami's eyes widened as he listened to the human, his mouth forming a large grin as the surprise wore off.

"Moshi moshi." Anti-Kira spoke in a perfect rendition of L's voice, her free hand motioning the Shinigami to stay quiet and leave the room. "Ah, Yagami-kun…."

**Chapter End**

A/N: Ah…things seem to be getting complicated, with Mikami starting to take a more active role as the new Kira, and with Laskla revealing such interesting information….rest assured there will be an explanation as to Laskla's not-being-able-to-be-killed-ness in future chapters. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure there are no death note rules that directly prevent using a victim to save another.)

Sorry about not updating for a while, but my muse didn't hit me with ideas until after I forced myself to start this chapter and when ideas did hit me I ended up having to re-write this chapter. (This fic is by now completely different than what I had originally planned, which is a good thing because most of what I originally planned focused on the conclusion of the fic only rather than the oh-so-vital middle.)


	12. Detection

**Nameless Exception**

**Chapter 12: Detection**

Daybreak spread over the city, illuminating the windows of the taskforce headquarters, though deep below in the underground levels none of the officers noticed. Two days had passed since Sayu and Matsuda fell from that overpass, the former's physical injuries recovering well, though the emotional scars ran deep. While the latter…had yet to regain consciousness, his condition declining steadily each day.

"Damn it!" Aizawa cursed and slammed his fist against the table, upsetting his newly filled cup of coffee; the brown liquid spread over the tabletop and toward the stacks of papers he'd been searching through. He cursed again as the hot liquid dripped off the table edge and onto his leg. The next second storming out of his seat and knocking the stacks of papers over with his arm.

"Aizawa, get a hold of yourself!"

"This is…what does that detective think he's doing?! Leaving us to deal with this mess on our own, while he…."

"Just calm down, Aizawa-san. Getting upset will not help anyone. There must be a reason why…."

"Reason? What reason could there be to ditch the current investigation and go off on his own?! Leaving the only means to communicate to us through a frigging phone number! Meanwhile, Matsuda is at death's door and chief's daughter Sayu…."

He choked back his words, pale-faced as he glanced at Souichiro sitting at the computers, then at Light sitting a few seats away from his father. Aizawa swallowed as he noticed both pause, his eyes focused more on the police chief - it surprised him when Light stood up, pushed his chair away and stalked toward the door.

"Light…." Souichiro half-stood as his eyes followed his son's progress to the door, sitting back down with a sigh as the door shut behind the college student. His eyes blurred as he stared at the computer screen, the silence surrounding him heavy. _'Sayu….'_

0

"Damn it!" Light punched the corridor wall once he was out of audible range, his hand sore from the impact after the second strike. He glared at his fist, the pain feeding more fuel to the rage simmering inside him. Tendrils of fear threatened to choke him from within - his carefully devised plans lay shattered by Anti-Kira's actions, and L's decision to leave the taskforce and to grant Misa amnesty.

Light wrestled the truth out of Rem yesterday, after the Shinigami refused to follow any more of his plans. L had figured out the connection between Rem and Misa, and circumvented Light's plan to kill him by compromising with the Shinigami.

' "_I stay out of any plan of yours and Misa will not be charged." Rem glared at Light as she repeated L's offer, the deal she agreed with. Immediately leaving the room and the pale college student behind.'_

"Damn it! L….if Anti-Kira never showed up then….even if L did figure out my plan, Rem wouldn't side with him….she….it's because Misa no longer remembers me that…." Light closed his eyes and inhaled, holding the thought for a moment before he exhaled and opened his eyes. "I need Misa to regain her memory….once she remembers she loves me, Rem will be forced to follow my plans…."

'_Tsk, Rem probably will write my name in the death note the moment I take a step towards Misa…so I can't visit her….oh well, if I can't use Misa, I need to get rid of her…but first I need to get rid of Rem….' _Light stepped into one of the many unused rooms along the corridor, eyes the cold solidity of reason instead of the red of enflamed megalomania. _'I have a contingency plan thought out already, I'll just need time and opportunity to set it up….that'll take care of Rem….'_

"Now, Anti-Kira….what is her plan? I have a suspicion as to L's plan….I cannot prove it, but…." Light glanced at his right pants pocket which housed his cell-phone, his thoughts wrapping around the time Anti-Kira mimicked Misa's voice on the phone and the phone call he'd made to L two days ago. Unlike the first time where he figured out quickly that a fake Misa had called him, he didn't detect any verbal clues to suggest it was Anti-Kira and not L he spoke with. _'There's still the possibility that it wasn't L who answered that call….Anti-Kira can mimic voices after all, and I'm certain L and Anti-Kira are working together against me….the motive would be to keep Anti-Kira informed of the taskforce movements without L needing to contact her….to keep the chance of discovery low, L probably will monitor every call to that number and butt in himself if need be….'_

'_L…you can never out wit me, our thought processes are too much alike….but Anti-Kira is a different matter. What is her point in using Sayu to….' _Light blinked as a conversation he'd had with Rem prior to the Shinigami siding with L returned to him. _'Wait, demi-shi lose their free will, and Anti-Kira is nearly turned into one….is it really Anti-Kira's plan, using Sayu, or is it the Shinigami Laskla's…?'_

"It doesn't matter which really, only that if Laskla is controlling, or influencing Anti-Kira, I can't allow any plan to be leaked to either of them….it also means I only have to get the Shinigami on my side in order to thwart L." Light grinned, crimson glint to his brown eyes. "So, I just need to find Laskla….which might be simple depending on if those death note sheets Sayu had came from Anti-Kira's own death note or the one Misa had."

He forced his laughter to remain low as he steadied himself against the wall, the next moment leaving the unused room and heading back toward the investigation room.

0

"It's been a while since I dealt with the investigation of a case so directly." L mused as he stood outside a convenience store, head tilted up at the overhead sign. His brain infused with waves of information he'd collected over the pass two days, most relevant only by proving that they weren't relevant to his investigation. His eyes zeroed in on the store's surveillance camera tucked neatly into the back corner closest to the cashier as he stepped through the entrance.

Nonchalantly he strolled down the aisle beside the windows, black eyes memorizing the vantage point provided for the street outside. Magazines and manga anthologies were lined along the storefront window, allowing for browsers to enjoy the tomes in comfortable lighting. It also provided a semi-blind spot from the camera overlooking the store.

'_Around the time Kira first became active, there was a freak accident just outside this store involving the death of someone who had been harassing a young woman just moments before….assuming Kira's only means of killing was heart failure at the time I dismissed it as irrelevant, but now….' _L shifted his gaze to the grocery items filling each aisle, expression unchanging as he entered the candy and sweets aisle. _'It was erroneous of me to not investigate harder for more experimental activity by Kira during the immediately preceding days of his murder spree. Anyone with Kira's intelligence would need first hand proof of their power, preferably proof they can witness up close….'_

He glanced back at the storefront window, then at the camera in the back corner, his fingers lingering absently over the many packages of candies. The digits paused over a chocolate bar as he sensed someone approaching him, and he slipped his freehand into his pocket. Then he felt a tingling along his spine, and he glanced behind him.

"You're not planning on receiving a five-finger discount, are you?" One of the store's cashiers glared down at the detective, who now held a chocolate bar between his forefinger and thumb. Heavily shadowed black eyes silently shifted from the employee's face to the chocolate bar then back to the employee - the thin lips remaining expressionless.

"That is not a question to ask in order to receive an appropriate response." L replied calmly, forefinger and thumb still holding the chocolate bar even as the cashier grabbed his arm. The employee's eyes charged with anger at L's vague reply - something further enflamed when the employee's eyes noticed L's brief half-smirk.

"Trying to be smart, huh? Think you'll get away with shoplifting?"

"It seems you've fallen under a false assumption that…." L began, his sentence cut off as the cashier dragged him to the backroom of the store.

0

Mikami glanced up at the hospital's 5th floor windows, his penetrating, normally stoic eyes covered by box frame glasses. Beside him Laskla hovered, the Shinigami's words from two days ago echoing in his ears.

'_Kira is…could be….this Shinigami's favorite human reincarnated….yet that means…Kira dies 6 years from now? God dying? No….there has to be a way to prevent that….'_

"Shinigami, is there a way to prevent Kira from dying 6 years from now? To prolong his life?" Mikami asked, eyes still focused on the hospital thus he missed the peculiar expression that flashed across Laskla's face. At the failure of the Shinigami to answer him right away, he turned toward Laskla. "Well?"

"There are ways for Shinigami to prolong human life. But only if the human's death is not due to an illness. Still humans cannot live forever."

"But…still, would you not extend your favorite human's life if you could? Would you not protect Kira…."

"I'm not 100 percent certain that Kira is my favorite human reincarnated. I won't be certain until he touches my death note." Laskla patted the slim notebook hidden by a light cloth at his side, nothing in his expression betraying his thoughts - the contours of his face stoic as the human gazed at him. Once Mikami turned away however, Laskla gave the human a calculating look, eyes narrowing to slits. _'I'll have to get rid of this human if Desu doesn't….'_

"That officer's death will happen sometime today….um, it was interesting to figure out that one can use the death note to cause a person to save another, even if it can't be used to kill….it might be interesting to experiment on how much the rules can be stretched, if there's a way to get around the no killing rule…." Mikami strolled along the sidewalk across the street from the hospital, observing the building out of the corner of his eye.

0

"Ah. So you have a surveillance system set up." L glanced at the monitor in the backroom recording the happenings in the store, while the cashier and security employee rewound the security tape. He forced himself to sit more like a normal person on the chair behind them as he scanned the shelf archiving the store's past security tapes - he needed their attention away from him.

'_Where…ah, there it is….the security tape for that day….' _L slipped his hand into his pocket and pressed the send button, the text message he'd composed secretly before being dragged to the security room sent silently.

"Have you not yet discovered I did not snatch anything from the shelves?" L inquired, his black eyes boring into the backs of the two re-watching the tape. He noticed the hesitance in both employee's body language as they turned around - expressions of embarrassed regret on their faces.

"It seems I was mistaken….I apologize." The cashier bowed to the bemused detective while the security employee bowed just his head, reproachful eyes targeted on the cashier. Seconds later sounds of a commotion in the store filtered through the door and L watched as the two employees glanced at the monitor then rushed to quiet the disturbance.

Finding himself alone, L snatched one of the blank tapes in the box beside the monitor, wrote a date on it, and then switched it and the security tape of the day of the accident. Glancing once more around the room and at the monitor, he walked through the door and proceeded to exit the store with only a brief glance at the cashier and security employee chasing out a group of middle school students.

0

Rem glanced down at Misa sleeping on the hospital bed, the idol seemed so fragile, gentle and calm with her eyes shut. Unlike those moments when she was awake and her pretty face darkened with pain as the amnesiac tried to recall something about herself - those moments hurt Rem when the Shinigami saw the pain, and at times the tears. The human she loved was hurting and she couldn't do anything about it.

She glared at the demi-shi mark placed on Misa, it glinted a sharp yellow above the blonde's head, obscuring the lifespan and name.

"I swear I will kill Anti-Kira and make Laskla pay….I will not let you be turned into a full demi-shi….to lose your freewill…." Her eyes narrowed as the demi-shi mark glowed bright red, and she flexed her wings - within a second she flew through the hospital wall and searched around. "That glow…he's nearby….I visited Misa everyday on the chance that Laskla would appear near her….he's nearby."

Wings fully spread, she flew above the hospital and surrounding area - remembering only a brief moment later that Laskla would be shielding himself from detection by other Shinigami. She would not see him even if he was an inch in front of her. He however could she her.

'_Damn Laskla, why is he here? For Misa? Or….that officer and Light's younger sister are in this hospital as well. Could that be the reason? Laskla shouldn't need more than one demi-shi at a time, unless he wanted to start a war against the Shinigami King….'_

"Laskla…."

0

The tape held delicately between finger and thumb, L glanced over at Watari as the older man entered the hotel room wheeling in a television and VCR. Since leaving the taskforce headquarters the detective returned to the bare rooms he'd used before revealing himself as L to the taskforce. Bare wooden floors on which nothing but a computer rested and a separate room used as a makeshift kitchen - L felt a tinge of disappointment the first step back into this apartment.

'_I couldn't tell the taskforce to leave the building I constructed for the investigation, but…it seems a bit of a waste to be back here before the case has been closed….' _The detective chewed on his thumbnail as he waited for Watari to set up the TV and VCR, his black eyes glancing over the nearly empty room. Frowning slightly he removed his thumb from his teeth and instead brought it to his pocket - his pale fingers delving inside for something as Watari switched on the TV and VCR.

"It's ready, Ryuzaki." Watari turned around and paused, eyebrows raised as L took a chocolate candy bar from his pocket. He quietly took the videotape from the detective, who then proceeded to open the candy bar once both hands were free. "Ryuzaki, you did not have any money on you or a credit card - where did you get that chocolate bar?"

"I had to make the salesclerk suspicious…is it really my fault if they didn't realize the truth from watching the security playback?" L replied after taking a bite of the candy, lips curved slightly until he noticed Watari's disbelieving expression. He then frowned and tilted his head, still nibbling at the candy bar. "It was necessary to get the chance to get that tape. Now, if you would kindly play it…."

Watari sighed and inserted the tape into the VCR, backing away from the TV once the auto play started.

_**A/N: **__Ah…what will happen now that L finally has begun a direct reinvestigation of Kira's first few days, focusing on suspicious deaths that weren't due to heart attacks? That video tape….what will happen now that L has that tape? (I'm not sure about the canon, but I've used the premise that there was a surveillance camera at that store during the first and only time Light used the death note in public, and that he didn't do anything to dispose of it since doing so would raise suspicions.)_


End file.
